ADF insurgency: Uganda army says they will always be ready for any attack

The UPDF spokesperson, Brig Richard Karemire has said the Ugandan army is and will always be on alert to guard against any attack on the country.

Last week Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels killed a total of seven United Nations peacekeepers in Beni, in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo amidst increased activities by the insurgents in the area.

Speaking to Nile Post on Monday afternoon, Brig Karemire said the Ugandan army will always maintain presence and remain on alert in case of any possible attack.

“UPDF has always been there(on the border) on full alert,” he told this website.

Last month, the deputy army spokesperson, Lt.Col.Deo Akiiki told the Nile Post that they had deployed over 1000 Local Defence Unit personnel at the Uganda- Congo border to help beef up security.

He said the LDUs who had just been passed out would be working with UPDF soldiers deployed at the border since 2015 to secure the country against ADF attacks.

It is said that the LDU personnel help a lot to do intelligence in the various villages where they are deployed.

Despite being reduced to between 700- 900 fighters, the ADF rebels have in the past few years regrouped and became a menace to locals especially in the Beni area.

Last year, they killed over 14 United Nations peacekeepers under the MONUSCO and last week they killed seven before injuring many others.

Asked whether the renewed activity by the rebels is something to worry about, Brig Karemire said there is need for change in strategy towards the rebel group by the Congolese government.

“We look forward to a new strategy by the DRC government on how to tackle this menace. A regional approach remains viable,” he said.

“The joint follow up mechanism with the centre set up in Kasese in 2017 needs to be operational .Such and others need to be exploited.”

Recently, the MONUSCO forces together with the FARDC (Congolese army) launched offensives against the ADF base at Kididiwe, about 20 kilometres from Beni city where they have been using as the springboard to attack nearby villages.

The Ugandan army last year launched strikes against the ADF rebel group which was declared a terrorist organisation and white-washed a number of their training camps and also killed many others.