Besigye "red cards" government for deploying troops in DR Congo
The leader of the Peoples Front for Transformation (PFT) Dr. Kizza Besigye has asked the government to immediately withdraw UPDF from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Last week, UPDF carried out air and artillery strikes on rebel positions.
Keep Reading
Uganda accuses the rebel group of bombing in Kampala city that left seven people dead and many others injured and on a bus on Kampala-Masaka road.
Speaking to the media, Besigye, explained that the withdrawal will prevent the forces from repeating previous mistakes that cost the country dearly in their last mission in the DRC.
“UPDF must pull back and let the United Stabilisation Mission in the DR Congo (MONUSCO) take charge of the problem. Secondly excessive use of force and profiling of Muslims needs to stop," Besigye said.
According to Besigye, neglecting the approval of Parliament before deploying the troops could result in negative consequences for the country.
"In 1998 when UPDF was deployed in DRC, I was still in the forces. The army commander then Gen. Jeje Odongo was asked by Parliament whether our forces were deployed. He denied it. But Gen. Saleh later contradicted the army commander saying UPDF was deep in Congo," Besigye said.
Besigye suggested that Uganda should use UN and DRC forces to deal with the ADF crisis and if they don’t have necessary expertise and knowledge to deal with the crisis, it can embed local personnel.
"But secondly, we must deal with the grievances that led to formation of ADF. ADF is a local problem. The management of conflict in Uganda must deal with the causes and not the effect," he said.
The Kampala Lord Mayor, Erias Lukwago said MPs should ask questions about the invasion of DRC by UPDF because there must be a clear statement on deployment
