PICTORIAL: Ugandan troops inside DRC hunting for ADF
UPDF has established Forward Operating Bases(FOB) inside Democratic Republic of Congo as the hunt for Allied Democratic Forces terrorist group intensifies in an operation code-named Shujaa, a Kiswahili word for hero.
A Forward Operating Base is any secured forward operational level military position, commonly a military base, that is used to support strategic goals and tactical objectives.
Keep Reading
According to Maj Gen Kayanja Muhanga, the operations commander, the FOB has been set at Mukakati which is 18kilometres from the Ugandan border in Busunga and it is where they will be launching offensives against the ADF from .
Explaining the operation, Muhanga said it started with engagements between the leaders of the two countries before the commanders of the UPDF and FADRC met to engage on a tactical level on how to effect the operations.
“We launched the operation by employing air force and artillery on the identified enemy defence locations,”Muhanga said.
Congolese nationals welcome Ugandan troops to their land.
Speaking about the artillery and air strikes launched earlier this week, Gen Muhanga said information from the Congolese army indicates the ADF was badly hit and suffered a lot of causalities.
“The enemy was seriously punished by our air force and artillery and they have a lot of causalities so far.”
Whereas many have been questioning the duration of the operation, the overall commander, Maj Gen Kayanja Muhanga said this would be determined by the military end state.
“The military end state is to defeat the rebels and their will to fight. We want to create conducive environment to enable trade between the two countries and prosperity between the peoples of the two countries. We promise the people that we are ready to defeat the terrorists and bring peace back to Eastern DRC,”Muhanga said.
He added that the operation will be reviewed every after two months at a strategic level to ascertain its progress on weakening enemy forces so that war and killing of innocent civilians can end.
The operation is a result of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo last month aimed at pacifying the area between the two countries.
