DR Congo: Ugandan troops say they have taken a militant stronghold
The CODECO, one of the militias charged with crimes in the war-torn Ituri Province, has a stronghold in eastern DR Congo that the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) stated its men had taken on Saturday, July 27.
A main camp of another armed group that killed dozens of Ugandan schoolchildren was reportedly captured by the Ugandan army a few weeks prior.
“UPDF troops capture CODECO stronghold in Ituri, eastern [DR Congo],” Colonel Chris Magezi, the Ugandan army’s spokesperson, said on X on Saturday.
“For years, the ultra-violent CODECO militia orchestrated horrific ethnic cleansing campaigns in the region with impunity, such as against the neighbouring HEMA people.”
In the past, the CODECO, whose commanders are subject to sanctions, has been held accountable for ethnic murders in areas like Djugu region. The organization was accused of carrying out a single attack on a number of Ituri villages in February of this year, killing at least 51 people. 45 persons were killed by the gang in June 2023.
In that region of Congo, the long-suffering villagers have found hope again thanks to the UPDF campaign nicknamed Operation “Mlinzi wa Wanyonge,” or “Operation Protection of the Weak.” “Thousands of Congolese fled to Uganda to seek refuge during the height of the militia killings,” Magezi claimed.
“CODECO planned and carried out strikes from the major operations headquarters in the conquered town of Djugu. “This is no longer the case!” he declared.
In 2021, Uganda sent troops to Ituri as part of Operation Shujaa to combat militias like as the CODECO and the ADF, an Islamist organization notorious for its atrocities.
The UPDF said on July 10 that its forces had taken control of Musa Baluku’s ADF militia leader’s main camp in Apakwang, Ituri.
Originating in Uganda, the ADF militia is one of the terrorist organizations that are sanctioned and active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In June 2023, a militia associated with the Islamic State attacked a school in Uganda, killing at least 40 students.
