The Democratic Republic of Congo army has confirmed it is carrying out joint operations with Ugandan special forces against a rebel group.
The confirmation came just a day after the DR Congo army spokesperson had denied the presence of Ugandan troops in the country.
The change of position has attracted criticism from members of the public.
The spokesperson Patrick Muyaya said the operations were agreed upon after evaluation.
Uganda on Tuesday said it was taking part in the joint operation against the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which has links to the Islamic State group. It has been blamed for last month’s suicide attack on Uganda’s capital, Kampala, which killed four people.
Uganda said it had carried out air strikes on ADF bases and the Congolese army said the joint operation was aimed at securing those rebel positions.
The ADF operates in both countries.
In June, DR Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi and Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni met at the two border town of Mpondwe, where they agreed on a partnership to fight ADF, but the how and when were not announced.
In 2017, the Ugandan and Congolese armies successfully fought together against the Ugandan rebel group, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) that had implanted itself in eastern DR Congo and caused insecurity in the region.
Source:Fiilafmonline/BBC
