Uganda, DR Congo agree to share intelligence to fight ADF rebels

KAMPALA, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- Ugandan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) authorities have agreed to strengthen liaison mechanisms and share intelligence information in a bid to defeat the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels following their deadly attack on UN peacekeepers.

Brig. Richard Karemire, Ugandan military spokesperson, told Xinhua on Tuesday that the Ugandan government and DRC's North Kivu officials held a bilateral security meeting in the western Ugandan district of Mbarara over the weekend.

"Sharing information will help forces to be better prepared to deter infiltration and possible attacks by the ADF," said Karemire.

The Ugandan delegation led by Bright Rwamirama, state minister for defense and veteran affairs, met with DRC's North Kivu province regional officials.

The ADF attacked the UN peacekeepers in eastern DRC's North Kivu province on Dec. 7, killing at least 15 Tanzanian blue helmets, five DRC soldiers and wounded 53 others.

Uganda last week called for the operationalization of a regional military center in the western district of Kasese to intensify the fight against the ADF.

The center -- Joint Regional Military Center of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) -- was established in 2016 to monitor and gather intelligence on rebel activities and share it with member states.

ICGLR is a regional intergovernmental body that comprises 12 countries -- Uganda, Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, DRC, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sudan, Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia.

The ADF is accused of increased killings and massacres of troops and civilians, rape and abductions over the past three months in eastern DRC. Enditem