Uganda has reinforced its forces in eastern Congo by deploying an extra 1,000–2,000 troops near the area controlled by the M23.
Uganda has noticeably increased its troop presence in eastern Congo, sending between 1,000 and 2,000 additional soldiers last week as part of Operation Shujaa—a joint mission with the Congolese Army.
Diplomatic sources and the United Nations report that Uganda’s forces in that area now number between 4,000 and 5,000 in total.
Uganda states that this deployment is aimed at combating extremists who follow the rigid Islamic ideology of the ADF. However, these militants are operating near territories controlled by the M23 rebels, raising further concerns, according to a Reuters report.
While Uganda openly supports the Congolese President, Félix Tshisekedi, in his fight against armed groups, it is simultaneously accused of assisting the M23—a claim Uganda denies, even though it acknowledges that the fighters who initiated the new offensive by that group (mostly Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese refugees) originated from that area.
A United Nations report—even though such reports are often controversial due to a lack of concrete evidence beyond phrases like “we heard that” and “we were told that”—states that Ugandan troops are also linked to the M23. Uganda, however, denies this.
Residents of Butembo reported seeing Ugandan soldiers moving toward positions held by M23 troops in recent days.
The spokesperson for the Ugandan military, Felix Kulayigye, denied that the deployment of these troops is intended to expand territorial control, saying that his forces have merely changed their “mode of defense” and declined to provide further details.
The Congolese Minister of Communications, Patrick Muyaya, stressed that the primary mission of the UPDF remains fighting the ADF.
