Wreaking havoc in the DRC
THE Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) continues to expand its Islamic network in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and is creating a hub for illegal exploitation of minerals and export of Congolese agricultural products, wreaking havoc in the country.
Over the weekend, the rebel forces launched two overnight attacks in the eastern part, killing at least 10 civilians and destroying homes. Eight were decapitated in the village of Boyo.
With the situation further deteriorating, experts are calling on African leaders and the international community to put pressure on Uganda and Rwanda to assist the DRC armed forces in fighting terrorists.
According to DRC writer Hubert Kabasu Babu Katulondi, what is happening is akin to the situation with the Islamic terror group Boko Haram in Nigeria, the Sahel, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad.
“What can be done is to first of all, equip and modernise the Congolese Army. It does not have sufficient transport and helicopters to move around properly and to operate and intervene when there is information that these ADFs [militants] are moving around and are about to attack. The Congolese Army does not have sufficient combat helicopters so that they can conduct air ground attacks to destroy their camps,” Babu Katulondi told Sputnik.
He added that the Congolese soldiers also lacked motivation because of irregular payments, noting that sometimes their salaries are cut by corrupt officials.
“Government must accelerate development in the Beni and Butembo areas and, in particular, neighbouring countries such as Uganda. Ugandan officers are in the front role in that region,” Katulondi said.
Katulondi also said the ADF kept building links with Islamist groups, such as al-Shabaab in East Africa, as well as created their own zone to spread Islamism.
“They do not hide it, they declare it. It all relates to illegal exploitation of several strategic minerals. In the area where these guys are operating you have not only got gold, but coltan [combination of columbite and tantalite] ... These are highly strategic minerals used in the super jet engines of super rockets and even in the engines of hyper and supersonic aircraft for commercial and military.
“These minerals are also used in the quantum technology, so it has a lot of highly strategic applications. They are used in the manufacturing of condensers for all electric communication devices.
“These guys have a large network dealing in money for the purchase of these minerals, which serves as money laundering,” the writer said.
Retired journalist with the Channel Africa radio broadcaster Michael Arereng said the ADF were of Ugandan origin, adding that the group consists of young people recruited from Western Uganda, Buganda Region, Central Uganda, and the Eastern Region.
“It was formed by Jamil Mukulu. The group started its operation in Western Uganda where it attacked villages and killed innocent people. In the early 2000s, the group attacked Kichwamba Technical College and killed more than 70 students. The Uganda People’s Defence Force managed to repulse the group, which escaped and entered North Kivu province in eastern DRC, where it set up camps and started abducting civilians in Beni and Butembo,” said Arereng.
The rebel movement abducts and lures youth into their operations, the former journalist said; abductees are given guns and often ordered to attack villages and kill innocent people.
“Jamil Mukulu, the overall leader, is currently in detention in [Uganda’s capital of] Kampala after being arrested in Tanzania and is facing numerous charges, including waging war against a democratic state and murdering innocent people in Uganda and the DRC.
“It’s difficult to distinguish between a Ugandan and a Congolese because most people recruited to join ADF are from the same ethnic group, the Bakonjo in Uganda and Nandi in DRC,” Arereng said.