Beni : the civil society warns of the slackening of joint FARDC-UPDF operations

The bureau of the civil society Forces Vives of the Rwenzori sector in Beni territory in North Kivu in eastern DRC warns of the slackening of joint operations by the Congolese and Ugandan armies in the said territory in recent times. This is what Ricardo Muhindo Rupande, chairperson of the said civil society, said on Thursday, May 25. He expressed doubts about the real collaboration between those responsible for these operations which were organized to “annihilate armed groups including ADF (Allied Democratic Forces), whose attacks weigh on the population of the Beni region”. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

This situation benefits armed groups, according to the local civil society.

“Three attacks targeted the Basongora groupment, including one that had caused a lot of human and material damage, like the fire of a vehicle in the Kambo boat on the river Semliki, which occurred recently in the road diversion from Kasindi-Butembo through the village of Karuruma, under the eyes of decision-makers of this joint FARDC-UPDF force”, regretted Ricardo Muhindo Rupande.

This human rights defender castigates this blatant silence and reveals that ADF rebels want to “impose their law in this area.” He deplores the current attitude of the central government of the DRC in the face of massacres of civilian populations in the Great North part of North Kivu and calls for urgent intervention, given this climate of desolation which no longer allows the population of this constituency to live there in peace.

Joint operations between the FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo) and the Ugandan army were launched on November 30, 2021, from Kamango (border city between the two countries). They continue in this part of Congo, threatened by several local and foreign armed groups, including the ADF considered by the region, the United States and the United Nations as “a terrorist group.”