The UPDF killed about 100 ADF rebels and destroyed eight of their camps in their safe haven inside DR Congo.
This raid, which was launched on 22nd December involved military aircraft. It came on the heels of an ADF attack on Tanzanian UN peacekeepers who are trying to shore up support for the fragile government. About 15 peacekeepers were killed in the attack.
However, questions still linger on whether the UPDF observed the requirements of international law and whether parliament was briefed.
However, Busiro East MP Medard Sseggona says the raid manifestly undermines parliament’s authority.
In the 1990s, the ADF rebels terrorized the Rwenzori region in the districts of Kasese, Bundibugyo, and Kabarole for over a decade. During the insurgency, the rebels are believed to have killed more than 3,000 people and displaced 100,000. In 1998, the ADF attacked Kichwamba technical institute and burnt to death about 80 students.
Uganda later sent troops to the neighboring state to pursue the ADF. However, the International Court of Justice, the UN’s highest court, ruled in December 2005 found Uganda guilty of violating the sovereignty of the (DRC) by sending armed troops into the country.
The court slapped a fine of 10bn US dollars on Uganda, which the country is yet to pay.
Karemire, however, says this time, Uganda has no single soldier on Congo’s soil and the flight operations are jointly carried out with Congo authorities.
According to Karemire, the UPDF will maintain deployment along the Congo border in the districts of Bundibugyo, Kasese, and Ntoroko until the ADF threat is dealt with.