UPDF capture ADF base in Ituri offensive

__________________

Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) under Operation Shujaa in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), have captured Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) leader Musa Baluku's base camp in Apakwang, Ituri Province.

The Commander of Defence Forces, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, earlier Friday, July 11, revealed that on Thursday, UPDF troops advanced and captured a huge camp that used to accommodate 1,000 to 1,500 terrorists and their families.

“The UPDF forces also sealed off huge gardens of rice, beans and cassava. Hot pursuit against fleeing ADF remnants further west in the offensive is ongoing,” reads a post on CDF’s social site X.

He also revealed that Uganda troops on Sunday (July 6th) also engaged the enemy using air and artillery strikes.

Gen. Kainerugaba, who is also the Senior Presidential Advisor of Special Operations, thanked the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) for their co-operation and comradeship.

In a related development, UN sources report that the joint FARDC-UPDF forces are pursuing suspected ADF rebels who killed 10 civilians between July 9-10 in Beu-Manyama, Beni territory (North Kivu).

The attackers are suspected to have fled into the Samboko forest after kidnapping several people.

Local military sources reported that the bodies of the victims, found by young volunteers from the area, were taken to the morgue of the Oicha General Hospital on Thursday evening.

According to civil society in Beni, the Beu-Manyama region, an agricultural area located on the border with Ituri province, suffered a double attack on Tuesday and Wednesday by armed men who reportedly came from the neighbouring Irumu territory.

This latest attack comes after more than six months of calm in this region, which had allowed hundreds of farmers to resume their activities.

The agricultural blocks of Kasoko and Katere were particularly targeted. Many farmers from Beni, Butembo, and the surrounding area practice agricultural activities there. The region produces cocoa, cassava, corn, beans, and a wide variety of legumes.