UN-Congolese operation sees 29 Ugandan rebels killed

BENI, Democratic Republic of Congo (AA) - An operation between the Congolese army and UN peacekeepers has resulted in the deaths of 29 Ugandan rebels in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the local military said late Tuesday.

Backed by helicopters, Congolese and UN troops have taken 10 Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) fighters prisoner and captured rebel positions in North Kivu since the operation began in mid-May, Lt. Mak Hazukay Mongba told Anadolu Agency.

“A large number of guns, ammunition and other military weapons were recovered,” he said. Three Congolese soldiers have been killed and eight injured.

Operation Usalama - “peace” in Swahili - was launched last month to tackle the ADF, which has operated in the eastern DRC since 1995. The rebels are comprised of several armed groups opposed to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.

Since late 2014, the Congolese army, backed by UN forces, has retaken many villages from the ADF in response to a series of massacres that have claimed more than 1,000 civilian lives.

For the last 20 years North Kivu province has seen a number of conflicts break out over ethnic and land disputes, control of mineral resources and rivalries between neighboring states.