KAMPALA, Uganda
An army spokesperson confirmed Tuesday that additional troops from the Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) have entered Bunia, the capital of Ituri Province, a key town in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, amid rising tensions in the region.
Brig. Gen. Felix Kulayigye told Anadolu that the forces intend to neutralize the Daesh-affiliated Allied Democratic Front (ADF) rebel group and other armed outfits that are killing residents in the region.
The UPDF, in cooperation with the Armed Forces of the Congo (FARDC), has pursued the rebel group which originated from Uganda and established a base in the Congo forests.
Uganda finds itself in a complex web of accusations and denials within the volatile eastern Congo conflict.
Although the UPDF is in eastern Congo, officially, backing Congo government forces against the ADF, the UN reports that Uganda has simultaneously helped train M23 fighters and given the group a rear base to move men and arms.
The Ugandan government has categorically denied involvement in the Congo’s internal conflicts unless as part of a regional peacekeeping effort.
Like Rwanda, Uganda has previously invaded eastern Congo militarily in 1996 and 1998, claiming it was defending itself from rebel groups.
Analysts said the accusations of a duplicitous mission by Uganda, highlight the complex dynamics of security concerns of neighboring countries and cross-border military networks which are state and non-state sponsored.
Ugandan Chief of Defense Forces Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is the eldest son of President Yoweri Museveni, warned during the weekend that he would attack Bunia in the neighboring eastern Congo unless all forces there surrender arms within 24 hours.
He added that he had the authority of his father.
