KAMPALA, UGANDA: The Uganda Peoples Defence Forces and the Congolese Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo have bombed more entrenched positions of Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels in Irumu forest, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
According to Lieutenant Jules Ngongo, the spokesman for the Congolese army in Ituri, the army bombed rebels’ positions on Tuesday at 6:00am. Ngongo said that the bombed positions are located in Makolo-Makolo forest towards Zunguluka in the territory of Irumu.
Ngongo said that the bombs were launched from the village of Rwebisengo towards Haibale on the side of the Semuliki river in Uganda, towards the location of the ADF camps in Makolo-Makolo forest.
Local sources in the area also confirm that detonations of heavy weapons were heard in several localities south of Irumu. They say that the situation has created fear among the locals of Boga, Tchabi, and in the Komanda region which neighbors Makolo-Makolo.
Ngongo however calls upon members of the public to remain calm and instead support security operations that are aiming at fighting the ADF rebels out of the area. The attacks by UPDF and FARDC soldiers come at a time after rebels also launched surprise attacks against locals and a Congolese army camp.
Last Saturday, the rebels attacked the villages of Tandika and Maliki in the Beni-Mbau sector of Beni territory, North Kivu province, killed six people, and kidnapped an unspecified number of others.
On Friday, the rebels also attacked the town of Nobili in the east of Beni territory on the border with Uganda and killed five people. They also attacked neighboring Kamango and Njapande areas and killed dozens.
The attack forced locals to flee to Uganda through Bundibugyo district. Last month, the rebels attacked a Congolese army camp in Nyesisi North Kivu province near the Virunga National Park and killed 20 soldiers.
The UPDF/FARDC operations against the rebels have also registered success. On Sunday, three rebels all Tanzanian nationals were arrested during a combat patrol in the Mwalika valley in the Chiefdom of Bashu, in the territory of Beni. The suspects narrated that they had been recruited by a Congolese national living in Butembo to work in a gold mine in the Beni region but instead ended up joining the rebel group.
Three rebels were also killed by the Congolese army Mukusa located in the territory of Beni on Monday. The rebels were killed during clashes, according to the spokesman of the Sokola1 operations, Captain Antony Mwalushayi. In addition to the deaths, several AK-47 weapons were also recovered by FARDC.
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