ADF Islamists kill Christians in DRC: Uganda and ADF clashes
Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
Islamists from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) have killed at least 10 Christians in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This comes at a time of recent cross-border clashes between the ADF and the armed forces of Uganda.
ADF planted a bomb attack against Christian worshippers in Kasindi, in the volatile east of the DRC. Approximately 40 other Pentecostal Christians were injured in the terrorist attack.
Antony Mualushayi, a spokesperson for the DRC military, said, “It is clear that this is a terrorist act perpetrated by the ADF terrorists who have suffered casualties in several battlefields by the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo.”
He also confirmed that the ADF used an “improvised explosive device” to kill Christian worshippers.
The ADF was formed in Uganda in the 1990s. Initially, the ADF focused on Uganda and expressed its grievances. Yet, in recent times, the ADF is more active in eastern DRC.
The BBC says, “…since it re-emerged in DR Congo – with a series of attacks on Congolese civilians and a more global jihadist dimension – the ADF has increasingly claimed attacks in the name of the so-called Islamic State group.”
UGANDA AND ADF CLASHES
In early January, the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) captured ADF Islamists after they crossed the DRC border and attacked several villages in the Ntoroko District.
Brig Gen Felix Kulayigye (UPDF) said, “…the UPDF has captured the commander of the ADF group that attacked Ntoroko last month. He was captured with two other combatants.”
The East African reports, “… the intensity and impact of Operation Shujaa, as the joint operation between the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) and the FARDC forces, has decreased as both armies encounter logistical constraints and the difficult terrain inside DRC’s Ituri and North Kivu provinces. The joint operation was deployed on November 30, 2021.”
All Africa reports, the ADF “… operate in North Kivu which borders other provinces including Ituri to the north and South Kivu to the South and has been a battleground for a number of rival armed ethnic groups since 1998.”
The DRC is blighted by an array of ethnic, religious, and political issues – in the eastern part of the country. Regional meddling also greatly impacts the DRC. Tensions with Rwanda are notably high concerning the M23 militia.
Stéphane Dujarric de la Rivière, the Spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, said the UN was “concerned over the deteriorating security situation…and the increase of attacks against civilians by the Cooperative for Development of the Congo (CODECO) and the M23 as well as the on-going presence of other foreign armed groups, including the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), Red Tabara and the Forces Démocratique pour la libération de Rwanda (FDLR), which continue to pose a threat to regional stability.”
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-64282053
https://allafrica.com/stories/202211060125.html
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