KAMPALA, Uganda | Xinhua | Troops of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Saturday successfully rescued another 23 abductees from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels in their joint military operation in the eastern DRC, a Ugandan spokesperson said.
The Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) and armed forces of the DRC, in the operation dubbed “Shujaa,” engaged the ADF near the Malibongo River, north of Tokomeka in the DRC’s eastern province of Ituri, leading to the rescue of the abductees, Bilal Katamba, spokesperson for the UPDF Mountain Division, said in a statement.
He said the rescued abductees, including 16 females and seven males, were received at the UPDF tactical headquarters in Luna, Ituri Province, after being extracted from the jungles by the joint mobile forces.
“Among the rescued are 13 minors, including three infants under the age of one, who are severely malnourished,” said Katamba. “A joint medical team is providing emergency care to save their lives. The mothers are also receiving basic medical treatment in the field, with arrangements underway to transfer them to a facility for more comprehensive care.”
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.
The ADF, a branch of the Islamic State in Central Africa, is a Ugandan rebel group that is holed up in the jungles of the eastern DRC. The rebel group is blamed for causing havoc in villages in the eastern DRC. ■