Daily Times

A Congolese-Ugandan military offensive against the deadliest militia in eastern DR Congo has captured 34 rebels, freed hostages and destroyed camps, the two armies said on Saturday.

Uganda and the DRC launched artillery and air strikes on November 30 against the Allied Democratic Forces, a group blamed for attacks in the Ugandan capital and regular massacres in eastern DR Congo, with Ugandan troops then entering Congolese territory.

A joint army statement on Saturday said the operations captured 34 ADF rebels, released 31 Congolese hostages and destroyed four enemy camps in “preliminary results”, noting no army deaths. “Since the launch of operations against the ADF terrorists and their local auxiliary forces, the situation remains calm on the ground,” the statement added.

The announcement came as the International Committee of the Red Cross on Saturday said two of its workers abducted in eastern DRC last month had been freed. Armed men from an unidentified group kidnapped the Red Cross engineers on November 30 near the Virunga National Park, but the circumstances surrounding their liberation are unclear.

“We are relieved about the return of our colleagues and we are delighted they can rejoin their families. It’s the end of their ordeal,” Rachel Bernhard, head of the Red Cross delegation in the DRC, told AFP.

“This kidnapping and any attack against humanitarian staff can endanger activities aimed at helping communities who are already severely affected by the conflict.”

The Islamic State group has claimed the ADF, which has operated in the conflict-wracked eastern DRC since the mid-1990s, as an affiliate. Numerous other armed groups are also based in the region. The DR Congo’s Catholic Church says the ADF has killed around 6,000 civilians since 2013.

Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi placed the eastern provinces of North Kivu and Ituri under a “state of siege” in May to intensify the battle against the rebels, with soldiers replacing civil servants in key positions.