DR Congo army launches attack on Ugandan rebels
Iran Press TV
Fri Jan 17, 2014 6:27PM GMT
Democratic Republic of Congo forces have launched a UN-backed offensive in the eastern part of the Central African country to flush Ugandan ADF-NALU rebels out of the mineral-rich zone.
'The Congolese army has launched operations against ADF-NALU in Beni and as usual UN troops will support the army to neutralize these rebels, who have been very active recently in this zone,' UN forces spokesman Colonel Felix Basse said on Friday.
ADF-NALU is a rebel group opposed to the Ugandan government. It is based in western Uganda with rear bases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
ADF-NALU rebels have stepped up attacks in the chaotic central African region this year, and have been identified by the UN mission in Congo (MONUSCO) as one of the main obstacles to peace in the country.
According to a UN report, the rebel group ADF-NALU is believed to comprise up to 1,400 fighters and has abducted about 300 Congolese civilians over the past year.
The Ugandan government has said ADF-NALU is allied with Somalia's al-Shabab fighters. However, analysts say the nature of these ties is not clear.
Since early May 2012, nearly three million people have fled their homes in the eastern Congo. About 2.5 million have resettled in Congo, but about 500,000 have crossed into neighboring Rwanda and Uganda.
Congo has faced numerous problems over the past few decades, such as grinding poverty, crumbling infrastructure, and a war in the east of the country that has dragged on since 1998 and left over 5.5 million people dead.
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