Kampala. Uganda on Wednesday dismissed claims in a report by UN consultants that it was backing M23 rebels energetic within the restive east of the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.
The report commissioned by the UN Safety Council and seen by AFP this week alleged “energetic help” for the M23 by Ugandan military and navy intelligence officers.
Requested in regards to the claims, Ugandan deputy defence spokesman Deo Akiiki advised AFP in Kampala: “The allegations are laughable, baseless and illogical to say Uganda is working to destabilise DRC.
“Our forces have been working along with DRC forces to make sure peace returns to japanese DRC,” he added.
North Kivu province has been within the grip of a resurgent M23 riot because the finish of 2021, with the group seizing swathes of territory and putting in a parallel regime in areas below its management.
Because the finish of 2021, the Congolese and Ugandan armies have been conducting joint operations in opposition to one other insurgent group, the ADF, in North Kivu and the neighbouring province of Ituri.
The ADF, an Islamic State affiliated group initially made up of primarily Muslim Ugandan rebels, has established a presence over the previous three a long time in japanese DRC, killing 1000’s of civilians.
The UN consultants’ report stated that about 3,000-4,000 Rwandan troopers fought alongside M23 rebels within the mineral-rich japanese DR Congo and that Kigali had “de facto management” of the group’s operations.
The consultants additionally stated that they had proof confirming “energetic help for M23 by sure UPDF (Uganda Individuals’s Defence Forces) and Chieftaincy of Navy Intelligence officers”.
Uganda “has not prevented” the presence of M23 and Rwanda Defence Drive (RDF) troops on its soil or passage by its territory, the report added.
“Regardless of proof documenting the common transit of M23 and RDF troops, automobiles and navy provides by Ugandan territory, the Authorities of Uganda, together with its navy intelligence service, claimed to not have recorded the presence of any overseas troops or materials on its territory because the starting of the M23 disaster,” it stated.
“Nevertheless, the extent and frequency of the actions render such a presence extremely unlikely to go undetected.”
It stated that since 2022, M23 combatants have persistently reported that provides and new recruits delivered to their camps got here by the Ugandan border cities of Kisoro and Bunagana.
Uganda was a part of a seven-nation East African Group pressure that deployed within the violence-plagued area in November 2022, on the invitation of the DRC authorities, to free areas taken by M23.
However the East African pressure withdrew late final 12 months after Kinshasa refused to resume its mandate.
