By ,Naswiru Sekamate
The Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) joint operation, named ‘Operation Shujaa,’ has seen the recovery of 9,500 rounds of ammunition so far from their ongoing operation against the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), launched on November 30, 2021. The Commander of the UPDF Mountain Division and Operation Shujaa, Major General Dick Olum, stated that the operation has significantly reduced ADF’s capacity to cause war, commenting, “The ADF will soon become a thing of the past. We have depleted their manpower, weaponry, and morale is at an all-time low.” Maj Gen Olum made these remarks yesterday while exhibiting a catchment of the weaponry and equipment captured from the ADF at the UPDF Mountain Division Headquarters, Muhooti Barracks Fort Portal. Along with the ammunition, the joint forces managed to put out of action (POA) 548 ADF terrorists, capture 50 alive, and 31 surrendered under intense pressure while freeing 156 women and children. Children, mostly in bad health condition, are currently receiving medical care from the various health facilities of the Uganda Peoples’ Defense Forces.
The 151 recovered weapons, including 142 submachine guns (SMG), 08 pieces of PMK machine gun, and 01 piece of 60-millimeter mortar. The recovered items also included 111 military radios and 45 radio charger ports along with ten batteries. According to the overall UPDF Commander of Operation Shujaa, Major General Dick Olum, the figures mentioned above do not include weapons or equipment under the FARDC.
“The figures are only inclusive of what we have recorded and have in our custody as UPDF. FARDC may have captured weapons and equipment from ADF in DRC, so the figures could be double what we have just given you,” he said.
Maj Gen Olum added, “For those ADF militants put out of action, we only count the dead bodies. We exclude those who fled to the wilderness and died. Therefore, each figure could be double what we have as UPDF.”
