Uganda, DR Congo troops rescue 30 abductees from ADF rebels
Thursday August 24 2023
Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo seen on a patrol car in Mukakati on December 10, 2021. PHOTO | AFP
The Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) and Congolese military have rescued another 30 abductees from Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels in their joint operation in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a military spokesperson said on Wednesday.
"The abductees reported to a base of the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC) at Erengeti, in North Kivu province on Tuesday," said Maj Bilal Katamba, spokesperson of the UPDF Mountain Division, in a statement.
"This follows last week's joint UPDF and FARDC attack in Tingwe hills where 19 abductees were rescued," said Katamba.
"The joint operation against ADF rebels in eastern DRC has intensified, leading to the successive rescue of people taken away, recovery of weaponry, and killing of rebels," he said.
Read: Over 500 ADF rebels killed so far in Uganda-DRC joint operations
The ADF, a branch of the Islamic State in Central Africa, is a Ugandan rebel group that is holed up in the jungles of eastern DRC. The rebel group is blamed for causing havoc in villages in Eastern DRC.
The Ugandan military and their Congolese counterparts started joint operations against the rebel group in November 2021, shortly after the ADF launched bomb attacks in Kampala, the capital of Uganda.