In an interview with the media, Ssempijja said that his objective and presence in DR Congo is to exchange tactics and means on how armed forces of both countries can neutralize the operations of ADF.
Uganda’s Defense and Veteran Affairs Minister, Vincent Bamulangaki Ssempijja arrived in Bunia, the capital of Ituri Province in Eastern Democratic of Congo-DRC on Wednesday evening to boost the ongoing mission to neutralize the rebel Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) by the two countries.
Ssempijja is accompanied by senior Ugandan military officers. In an interview with the media, Ssempijja said that his objective and presence in DR Congo is to exchange tactics and means on how armed forces of both countries can neutralize the operations of ADF.
He also revealed that he would hold meetings with the Congolese Minister of Defense, Gilbert Kabanda, who also arrived in Bunia on Tuesday to assess the state of siege against the rebels. ADF rebels are suspected to be hiding on the edges of Mambasa and Irumu territories in Ituri province, according to highly placed security sources.
The rebels are suspected to have moved their headquarters from Beni near Rwenzori mountains to the edges of Masamba and Irumu following the bombardments in North Kivu and Ituri by the Congolese army and Uganda Peoples Defense Forces (UPDF) on November 30.
Security sources also indicate that Moussa (Musa) Seka Baluku, the current leader of ADF does not have a fixed camp. At least 1,700 Uganda Peoples Defense Forces (UPDF) soldiers are already deployed in Eastern Democratic of Congo for a joint operation with FARDC against the ADF, according to an insider security source in DR Congo.
According to the source, the soldiers include special forces and infantry troops backed by artillery.