Govt open to peace talks with ADF

By Taddeo Bwambale and Mayimunah Namulemo

The Government is ready to hold peace talks with the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels to resolve the conflict that has destabilized parts of East Africa.

The minister for relief, disaster preparedness and refugees, Hillary Onek on Tuesday confirmed that Uganda would consider such talks with the rebel group if approached.

“The Government is ready to talk to anybody who has grievances, including the ADF. If there is any genuine political group that wants dialogue, we are ready to do so because war is not an option,” Onek said at a media briefing in Kampala.

The ADF on Thursday night attacked parts of eastern Congo leading to an influx of refugees in the western district of Bundibugyo in Uganda.

Uganda is host to more than 65,000 Congolese refugees who have fled the conflict and are currently accommodated in several parts of Bundibugyo district.

ADF started as a minor group in the Rwenzori Mountains along the Uganda border in 1996, but expanded its activities over the next several years.

The rebel group carried out numerous attacks in the late 1990s, including bomb blasts in markets and restaurants in Kampala, Kasese and Mubende districts.

In western Uganda, hundreds of civilians were murdered and others maimed from land mines planted by the rebels.

In February 1998, 30 students were abducted from a seminary in Kasese, while 80 students of Kichwamba Technical College were burnt alive in their dormitory.

Several youth were abducted and others killed as their acts of brutality raged on. In 2007, the UPDF repulsed the ADF, killing at least 46 in Bundibugyo and Mubende districts. Later, in March the UPDF killed 34 of the rebels, including three senior commanders.

Ceasefire and amnesty talks between the Government and the ADF were held in Nairobi in May 2008, but negotiations were complicated by the fragmentation of the ADF's leadership.

More than 50 ADF fighters have since surrendered and received amnesty. In May this year, Hassan Nyanzi, the 25 year old son to the ADF rebel leader, Jamil Mukulu, was granted amnesty after he denounced the rebellion and handed himself over to Ugandan authorities.

On Thursday last week, the ADF attacked the town of Kamango in DRC, forcing over 65,000 refugees to across the border into Uganda.

Civil society groups and intelligence sources suggest that Al-Shabaab fighters from Somalia are collaborating with the ADF.