Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said Thursday his army’s operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has killed more than 560 members of the Allied Democratic Forces, or ADF, a group allied with Islamic State militants.
Museveni also said he has asked the DRC army to deploy local militia to stop the ADF, a move analysts warned will only cause more trouble.
In an address Thursday night, Museveni, wearing military attire, revealed that since the start of Operation Shuja by the Uganda People's Defense Forces, or UPDF, in 2021, it has killed 567 ADF rebels allied with Islamic State militants in the DRC.
Fifty terrorists were captured alive, and 32 surrendered, he said. Several ammunition depots were recovered.
With permission from DRC President Felix Tshisekedi, Museveni said, the Ugandan army cleared the Rwenzori mountains of ADF rebels. Most of the militants have been pushed toward Mambasa, in the Ituri province, he said.
Still, Museveni said, he learned in a recent meeting with Christian Tshiwewe Songhesha, the commander of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or FARDC, that the ADF is capable of returning to some areas and causing trouble.
In response, Museveni said that the Ugandan army would work with the FARDC to deploy local defense units in villages to help prevent further attacks by the ADF. In that scenario, he said, mobile forces would hunt terrorists, zonal forces would stay in the area and the local militia would guard the villages.
“We need a local force to stay there to make sure that they don’t come back,” he said. “We have the capacity to ensure that no force hostile to the government of Congo or to our government can congregate anywhere and survive.”
However, Asuman Bisiika, a security analyst, said it will be difficult for the Ugandan army to completely clear the ADF in the DRC. He argued that Museveni doesn’t have enough authority and influence with the Congolese government.
Fear among the Congolese people is also a problem, he said.
“You give a Congolese human being a gun, he creates his own militia,” Bisiika said. “So, I look at that strategy as untenable in the long run.”
For now, the ADF seems to be striking closer to home for Ugandans. Museveni characterized the militants as desperate, blaming them for planting six improvised explosive devises in different parts of Kampala in the past week. The devices were retrieved and safely detonated by Ugandan security members, he said.
Seven people were arrested for planting the bombs.
“The planners are in Congo,” Museveni said. “We are going for them. So, what we need to do is to make anybody who has got that idea of using these chemicals to kill people … lose appetite for doing that. You do it, we kill you.”
Museveni urged Ugandans to stay calm and be vigilant of strangers in their communities.
In July, the British government issued an advisory saying the threat of terrorist attacks remains in Uganda and throughout the region. The U.S. Mission in Uganda has since June warned its nationals of possible attacks, especially within Kampala, even though they may not target foreigners.
