Operation Shuja: UPDF Rescues Over 14 Females Captured By ADF
The UPDF has as part of the joint operation Shuja in eastern DRC with FARDC rescued 14 female captives from the Allied Democratic Forces(ADF) group.
According to Maj Bilal Katamba, the UPDF Mountain Division and Operation Shuja spokesperson, the rescue came as troops operating in Mwalika Valley in North Kivu province had contact with an ADF group under the command of Abu Waqas at the confluence of RiverTalha and Semuliki.
“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,”Maj Katamba said.
He described Abu Waqa as the commander whose group is responsible for last month’s attack on Lhubiriha Secondary School in Kasese.
“ The joint forces are still pursuing the group.”
The development came at a time when the UPDF operation Shuja commander, Maj Gen Dick Olum 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 operations Shujaa review meeting due soon in Fort Portal city- Uganda.
The UPDF has been on the hot pursuit of the ADF rebels since December 2021 when artillery and air strikes were launched against the group’s bases in the thick eastern DRC forces.
The operation followed terror attacks in Kampala left over 10 dead and scores injured during twin blasts targeting the Central Police Station and Parliamentary Avenue.
Several ADF camps have also been destroyed during this period and several other areas were liberated from the group’s control in DRC.
President Museveni last month said over 500 ADF fighters have been killed during this period.
Also a number of top ADF commanders are said to have been killed during the operation but the whereabouts of the top most commander, Musa Baluku are not known since the operation started two years ago.
Whereas initial reports at the start of the operation indicated he had been killed in one of the air and artillery strikes by the Ugandan army, no further evidence has been provided to prove this.
However, Baluku seems to have gone underground and no information regarding his activities in DRC has surfaced by officials from the Ugandan army say the hunt for him is still on.
