The Ugandan army fighting Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in eastern Congo has said it has killed more than 548 rebels.
“Our army is doing well as far as eliminating ADF rebels in DR Congo is concerned. We have reduced their capacity to fight on. We have also captured a lot of their weapons," Major Bilal Katamba told Anadolu.
He said 50 rebels have been captured, 31 surrendered and 156 civilians have been rescued from the rebels' captivity.
The army did not provide a number of soldiers killed but a spokesperson said recently that armies rarely give figures for casualties during war.
Jet fighters
He said during the early stages of the operation, the army used jet fighters and helicopter gunships to hit the rebel’s camps before sending ground troops to go after fleeing rebels.
ADF rebels originated in Uganda in the 1990s to overthrow incumbent President Yoweri Museveni, but were overpowered by government troops and fled to the forests in DR Congo where they raid villages and kill civilians.
In 2021, after ADF killed hundreds of civilians, authorities in DR Congo and Uganda decided to collaborate to fight the rebels.
In November 2021, Uganda sent troops to help DR Congo troops hunt rebels under a joint operation.
