Prime
UPDF rescues 31 from ADF rebels, pardons 48 former abductees
UPDF spokesperson Brig Gen Felix Kulayigye. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- The former abductees include; five male adults, five teenage children girls, 12 male children and four juvenile Ugandans; as well as two male adults, two female adults, eight female children, and 10 male children Congolese.
The government through the Amnesty Commission has pardoned 48 former abductees of Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels who were rescued by the Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) in December last year in the ongoing Operation Shujaa.
The former abductees include; five male adults, five teenage children girls, 12 male children and four juvenile Ugandans; as well as two male adults, two female adults, eight female children, and 10 male children Congolese.
Amnesty Commission’s legal officer, Mr Nathan Twino while giving a certificate of pardon urged the former abductees to behave well when they return home as pardon is only done once.
“You should behave well when resettled in your communities, and always strive to be a better person for both the community and country at large,” he said.
UPDF spokesperson Brig Gen Felix Kulayigye said Wednesday that the chieftaincy of military intelligence in partnership with Bridge Way continues to receive and rehabilitate ADF ex-combatants from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
“Because of heightened operation from both UPDF and Congolese army, many former rebel combatants have either surrendered or been captured as those who have refused to be captured have been killed,” he said.
The commandant of the UPDF mountain division who is also leading Operation Shujaa, Maj Gen Dick Olum said they recently captured 50 rebels, 31 surrendered and 156 people including children were rescued from the rebel outfit.
The former abductees are set to receive $1,400 approximately Shs 5.2 million as a resettlement package.
Relatedly, a group of 31 abductees were on Monday successfully rescued after seeking refuge at the Armed Forces of the Congolese Army (FARDC) base located in Erengeti in eastern DR Congo on Monday.
Maj Bilal Katamba, the Public Information Officer of the Mountain Division's Operation Shuuja, said: “Last Friday when the joint forces of UPDF and FARDC had contact with ADF rebels in areas of Eregenti, in Ituri province, and in the Hills of Tingwe, some of the people (19) who had been abducted were rescued while others had to run away, and now 31 reported themselves to FARDC base located in Erengeti on Monday.”
He said the combined efforts of the UPDF and FARDC have proven highly effective in countering the activities of the ADF rebels.
