Kampala: Ugandan troops have crossed into the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as part of a joint operation against the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an armed group that both neighbouring countries accuse of massacring civilians. The two countries said, the deadliest of dozens of militias plaguing the DRC’s mineral-rich east, had been bombarded with artillery and air raids. Ugandan army spokeswoman Flavia Byekwaso said in a statement that “targets were accurately hit”.
Later, large number of Ugandan soldiers entered the DRC at the Nobili border post in North Kivu state, a United Nations source and an aid worker said. “It’s a column of very well-armed troops on foot, followed by armoured vehicles,” the aid worker said. It came as the DRC’s government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said the two sides had decided to cooperate further. “It was agreed after an assessment to continue in-depth operations by the special forces of the two countries to clear the positions of the terrorists concerned,” he said.
DRC army spokesman Leon-Richard Kasonga said in a statement that “for the time being, Congolese special forces supported by Ugandan special units will carry out search and control operations to clear and secure ADF positions affected by this morning’s strikes.”
