The Ugandan military announced its commitment to ongoing joint operations with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) against the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebel group despite the Ebola outbreak in the neighboring country. Chris Magezi, acting spokesperson for the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF), emphasized that military actions would persist as the ADF continued to harm civilians in eastern DRC. World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had urged armed groups in eastern DRC to declare a ceasefire to aid health workers in containing the Ebola spread.
The UPDF assured that operations against ADF remnants would proceed while adhering to Ebola prevention protocols. The ADF, linked to the Islamic State Central Africa Province, originally a Ugandan rebel movement, remains active in eastern DRC. Joint military efforts by Congolese and Ugandan forces have been ongoing since November 2021 to track and neutralize the ADF, despite the group’s persistent expansion in eastern DRC. Recent attacks by ADF rebels resulted in over 50 civilian deaths in North Kivu and Ituri provinces.
In another incident, more than 70 individuals were killed in an ADF attack in eastern DRC last April. Dieudonne Lossa, a civil society organization coordinator in Ituri, confirmed the attack’s toll in Bafwakoa village, where ADF rebels raided villages, causing casualties and property damage. The ADF’s violent activities have led to joint military responses to combat the group’s operations in the region.
