Ugandan troops fighting against Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been ordered to cease hostilities.
The order was issued by President Museveni on Wednesday night to his son who is also the UPDF Land Forces Commander, Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
“President Museveni has instructed me and all UPDF forces to hold all our positions in the DRC!” Muhoozi tweeted.
This came after President Uhuru Kenyatta who doubles as the Chairman of East African Community (EAC) called for a cessation of hostilities in eastern DRC.
Kenyatta called for the declaration of Ituri, North Kivu (Bunagana, Bugusa, most parts of Petit Nord, Masisi, Lubero, Beni-Kasindi main axis) and South Kivu provinces as a Weapons Free Zone.
He said any individual or group carrying weapons outside the official and legally deployed and mandated forces in the country will be disarmed.
“Ndio Afande! All UPDF troops will comply with the orders of the East African leaders,” Muhoozi said.
“We shall do exactly that! Absolutely no movements of any troops throughout Operation Shujaa until further notice!”
He added: “Furthermore, we await the final declaration by Chairman Uhuru.”
President Kenyatta further called for activation of the East African Regional Force under the auspices of the East African Community (EAC).
He said the East African Regional Force shall be deployed to the Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces immediately to stabilize the zone and enforce peace in support of the DRC security forces and in close coordination with MONUSCO.
In this regard, the meeting of the regional Commanders of the respective Defence Forces, cooperating in the Nairobi Process, scheduled for Sunday 19th June 2022, in Nairobi, should finalize preparations to undertake the deployment of the Regional Force.
The Regional Force will work with local provincial authorities to support an orderly and permanent disarmament process under the Programme de Desarmement, Demobilisation, Relevement Communautaire et Stabilisation (P-DDRCS) in order to create enabling conditions towards stability and peace in the eastern DRC.
Congolese protest
An anti-Rwanda rally in the eastern DR Congo city of Goma boiled over into looting Wednesday, as bare-chested men ransacked shops and searched cars they suspected of transporting Rwandans.
Several thousand people took to the streets to protest Rwanda in the morning a day after the Congolese government reiterated claims that Kigali backs the M23 rebel group.
The demonstrators, some stripped to the waist, rushed the border with Rwanda, chanting slogans against Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
Some carried Ugandan flags with photos of President Museveni denouncing his son for incessantly tweeting in support of Rwanda which is allegedly killing their people.
The Congolese accuse Rwanda of backing M23 rebels to capture Bunagana border town near the Ugandan border.
They demanded to know Uganda’s involvement in this matter, claiming that UPDF allowed RDF special forces to outflank DR Congo army in the Bunagana battle.
Congolese journalists reported that parliament was in the process of suspending all ratified agreements signed with Uganda, accusing Muhoozi of openly supporting Rwandan aggressors.
“I hear someone in the DRC parliament said that ‘Muhoozi is an enemy of Congo’. Me? So an ‘Enemy’ of DRC is one who saves people in North Kivu and Ituri from being slaughtered by ADF in ‘Le triangle de la mort’?” Muhoozi tweeted.
After protests raged in Goma city in eastern DRC, Muhoozi tweeted: “In spite of the useless war-mongering by some misguided people in DRC, we shall not be moved from the position that DRC is now part of the East African Community! And we shall protect it as any other country in our community.”
“I will also say that the Congolese brothers in FARDC, we have worked with, are great warriors! Very honourable and good soldiers! When we work together we are unstoppable!”
He added: “I want to meet my great President in the DRC soon. I am his younger brother. We can solve these problems easily. We should only serve the interests of Almighty God and our great peoples.”
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