At least one civilian killed in ADF rebel ambush at Uganda-DR Congo border: military-Xinhua

This photo taken on Oct. 13, 2023 shows the wreckage of a trailer truck burned during Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels’ road ambush in Uganda’s western district of Kasese. ADF rebels on Friday burned a civilian’s trailer, killed one occupant and injured another in a road ambush in Uganda’s western district of Kasese, about 2 km from the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), said a Ugandan military spokesperson. (Photo by Nicholas Kajoba/Xinhua)

KAMPALA, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) — Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels on Friday burned a civilian’s trailer, killed one occupant and injured another in a road ambush in Uganda’s western district of Kasese, about 2 km from the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), said a Ugandan military spokesperson.

A group of about five armed ADF elements attacked the trailer, which was carrying onions from the southwestern district of Kisoro to the Mpondwe-Lhubiriha border, at around 1 a.m., local time, said Col. Deo Akiiki, Uganda’s deputy military spokesperson, in a statement in Kampala, the capital of Uganda.

« One man was shot dead, one man [was] seriously injured and has been taken to Bwera Hospital. One woman survived uninjured and one man not yet seen, » said Akiiki. « This… happened at Katojo Junction along Bwera-Kinyamaseke-Kasese road in Kasese district. The trailer had four occupants. »

« UPDF squads are tracking down the attackers, » said Akiiki, referring to the Uganda People’s Defense Forces. « More details shall be availed later. »

Ugandan troops, together with their DRC counterparts, have been jointly fighting the rebel group since November 2022.

The ADF, also a branch of the Islamic State in central Africa, is blamed for causing havoc and mounting attacks in North Kivu and Ituri provinces in eastern DRC. ■