The Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) in a joint operation with the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) operating in Mwalika Valley in North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) faced off with the notorious Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) group under the command of Abu Waqas where 14 women were rescued.
The face-off, which happened on the night of July 17, was at the confluence of River Talha and Semliki. Among those captured in the group is a Burundi national who also served as Abu Waqas’s wife and has been in the ADF ranks for five years.
According to an official statement, the joint forces are still pursuing the group. Abu Waqas’s group is responsible for the killing of 37 students of Lhubiriha Senior Secondary School on June 16. Maj Gen Dick Olum, the UPDF Operation Shujaa overall commander, held a meeting with the FARDC Beni sector commander Maj Gen Kasongo Maloba at the UPDF Operation Shujaa tactical headquarters in Kasindi.
The commanders discussed Operation Shujaa-related issues and gave commanders operational and tactical guidance. The meeting also served as a pre-review meeting to prepare for the quarterly Operation Shujaa review meeting soon in Fort Portal City in Uganda. Both commanders hailed the UPDF/FARDC Joint operation for the successes against the ADF. Brigade commanders from both UPDF and FARDC under Operation Shujaa attended the meeting.