ADF Still In DR Congo, Says UN Team
Sep 17, 2002
THE Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels are the only Ugandan armed group still active in the Democratic Republic of Congo ((DRC), the UN Mission in the DRC, MONUC, said in a report to the Security Council.
By Richard Mutumba
THE Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels are the only Ugandan armed group still active in the Democratic Republic of Congo ((DRC), the UN Mission in the DRC, MONUC, said in a report to the Security Council.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan presented the report on the first assessment of the armed groups operating in the DRC, which was published in April this year.
“Information gathered by MONUC indicates that the ADF is the only Ugandan armed group of the six groups mentioned in the Lusaka cease-fire agreement still active in the DRC,†it said.
The UPDF has expressed readiness to pull out of DRC this month. A few Ugandan soldiers remain there.
MONUC said the National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (NALU), seen to have been absorbed by ADF; the Uganda National Rescue Front II and the former Uganda National Army (FUNA) have been disbanded.
MONUC said the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the West Nile Bank Front (WNBF) still operate but not in the DRC.
The report said the ADF force is estimated at 200 - 300 fighters, mainly in the Rwenzori Mountains close to the Uganda border. The assessment report said unlike the other foreign-armed groups operating in the DRC, the ADF are not known to have external allies. It said like most other armed groups, ADF have only light arms.
MONUC said in view of the isolation and vulnerability of the remaining ADF, the Mission has been working with the World Bank and Kampala to encourage ADF rebels to give themselves up under the Government amnesty. The report said ADF had primarily small arms (AK-47 rifles). The UN team said with their present limited numbers, it was unlikely that they would be able to move with heavy weapons.
The team said ADF had been reported to have access to satellite telephones, man-pack radios and Motorola walkie-talkies. MONUC said ADF had links with the LRA and NALU.
Ends
THE Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels are the only Ugandan armed group still active in the Democratic Republic of Congo ((DRC), the UN Mission in the DRC, MONUC, said in a report to the Security Council.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan presented the report on the first assessment of the armed groups operating in the DRC, which was published in April this year.
“Information gathered by MONUC indicates that the ADF is the only Ugandan armed group of the six groups mentioned in the Lusaka cease-fire agreement still active in the DRC,†it said.
The UPDF has expressed readiness to pull out of DRC this month. A few Ugandan soldiers remain there.
MONUC said the National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (NALU), seen to have been absorbed by ADF; the Uganda National Rescue Front II and the former Uganda National Army (FUNA) have been disbanded.
MONUC said the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the West Nile Bank Front (WNBF) still operate but not in the DRC.
The report said the ADF force is estimated at 200 - 300 fighters, mainly in the Rwenzori Mountains close to the Uganda border. The assessment report said unlike the other foreign-armed groups operating in the DRC, the ADF are not known to have external allies. It said like most other armed groups, ADF have only light arms.
MONUC said in view of the isolation and vulnerability of the remaining ADF, the Mission has been working with the World Bank and Kampala to encourage ADF rebels to give themselves up under the Government amnesty. The report said ADF had primarily small arms (AK-47 rifles). The UN team said with their present limited numbers, it was unlikely that they would be able to move with heavy weapons.
The team said ADF had been reported to have access to satellite telephones, man-pack radios and Motorola walkie-talkies. MONUC said ADF had links with the LRA and NALU.
Ends