22nd December, 2017
The Ugandan army on Friday attacked rebel camps in eastern Congo, an army spokesman said.
Spokesman Richard Karemire told Reuters that the attack followed intelligence sharing with the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“So in a pre-emptive move this afternoon, Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) conducted attacks, they are of a limited nature on camps in DRC,” he said.
Local media reported that the Ugandan army deployed heavily along the DRC-Uganda border following the deadly attack that killed 15 UN peacekeepers in Eastern Congo.
The attack was attributed to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and the UPDF explained that the deployment followed reports that the rebels planned to attack Uganda.
In the 1990s, the ADF rebels terrorised the Rwenzori region in the districts of Kasese, Bundibugyo and Kabarole for over a decade. During the insurgency, the rebels are believed to have killed more than 3,000 people and displaced 100,000.
The last time Uganda sent its troops into DRC in pursuit of rebels, it was charged for plunder of the country’s resources.
The International Court of Justice, the UN’s highest court, ruled that Uganda was guilty of “occupying Ituri (a region in the DRC), violations of sovereignty, illegal use of force, violations of international human rights laws and looting and plunder” between August 1998 and June 2003.