Ugandan army kills 11 Allied Democratic Front rebels

By Godfrey Olukya

KAMPALA, Uganda (AA) – The Ugandan army said on Tuesday that its troops killed 11 Allied Democratic Front (ADF) rebels who entered the country late Monday night from the eastern neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF) spokesman Felix Kulayigye told Anadolu Agency over the phone that 11 ADF rebels have been killed so far, and that armed fighting in the western Uganda district of Ntoroko has intensified.

He added that the rebels came from the Democratic Republic of the Congo's jungles.

"About 30 ADF rebels crossed the Semuliki River into the Ntoroko district last night. Our intelligence received information, and the army intercepted them. So far, 11 of them have been killed in the ensuing gunfight," he said.

Ivan Kyonya, a local leader in the Ntoroko district, told Anadolu Agency that when villagers heard gunshots, they began fleeing to neighboring villages. Over 1000 homes, he claims, have been abandoned.

The ADF group was formed in the 1990s and has been fighting the Ugandan government since then to overthrow incumbent President Yoweri Museveni's regime, claiming that his rule is undemocratic.

When the Ugandan army attacked the insurgents, they fled to forests in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they attacked villages and killed innocent civilians.

The ADF, which pledged allegiance to ISIS/Daesh in 2019, has also been attacking and killing civilians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for over two decades. The group killed more than 1,300 civilians last year, according to the UN.

Following a triple suicide bombing in Uganda's capital city Kampala in November last year, which killed seven people and injured dozens, the two countries launched a joint military operation in North Kivu and Ituri provinces.

The ADF was added to the US list of "terrorist organizations" linked to ISIS/Daesh last year.