Two ADF rebels surrender as joint forces rescue seven abductees in DR Congo
Members of the Uganda Peoples' Defence Forces (UPDF) position themselves on the Ugandan side of the border town in Bunagana, Democratic Republic of Congo, while awaiting deployment on March 30, 2023. PHOTO/AFP
The Uganda Peoples' Defence Forces (UPDF) in its joint operation with the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) against the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), have rescued seven more abductees.
They also killed two rebels and received two fighters who surrendered during a successful Operation Shujaa attack against ADF on Sunday.
According to Maj Bilal Katamba, the public information officer for operation Shujaa, the joint forces got into contact with the rebels in Mwalika valley prior to the fight which resulted into the rescue operation, recovery of guns and ammunitions as well the killing of two rebels and surrendering of others.
“The rescued abductees are currently at the joint forces sector headquarters awaiting evacuation and subsequent rehabilitation process,” Maj Katamba said in the Monday statement.
In the same fighting, two sub machine guns, 15 rounds of ammunition and a walkie talkie were recovered, according to UPDF.
Maj Katamba further noted that; “The joint forces wish to encourage all ADF rebels who would wish to surrender to the joint forces to use the earliest opportunity and report to any joint forces operating within their vicinity.”
Operation Shujaa is a joint operation of the UPDF and FARDC formed in November 2021, to fight against ADF in Eastern DRC following escalated attacks by the rebels in both countries in 2021.
The operation has since carried out a number of attacks on the rebels where in 2022 only, the joint forces were able to kill 424 ADF terrorists, 81 were captured, 115 abductees were rescued and 118 firearms and 10 improvised explosive devices (IED) were recovered.
In a related development, the joint forces also rescued two girls in a successful attack against the ADF in DR Congo last Friday.
The two girls were identified as Aisha Mbabazi, 17, and a five-year-old, only identified as Shaima. These were rescued by the joint forces under UPDF's 15th battalion in the general areas of Mwalika valley, North Kivu province in DRC.
However, despite the joint efforts by the two East African countries, the rebels continue to terrorise both countries. On June 16, government of Uganda confirmed that the DR Congo based group attacked and killed over 40 people, majority of whom were students of Lhubiriha Secondary School in Kasese District near Mpondwe, Uganda-DR Congo border.
