Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has clarified that the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) are not in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to fight the M23 rebels but to combat the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and to protect the construction of the Kasindi-Beni-Butembo Road. On Tuesday, February 18, Uganda confirmed that its troops had entered Bunia town in eastern DRC to help curb violence caused by Congolese militias. In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, February 21, 2025, President Museveni reiterated that Uganda’s military presence in eastern Congo is solely f

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has clarified that the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) are not in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to fight the M23 rebels but to combat the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and to protect the construction of the Kasindi-Beni-Butembo Road. On Tuesday, February 18, Uganda confirmed that its troops had entered Bunia town in eastern DRC to help curb violence caused by Congolese militias. In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, February 21, 2025, President Museveni reiterated that Uganda’s military presence in eastern Congo is solely focused on fighting ADF terrorists, protecting infrastructure projects, and maintaining regional stability. “I need to clarify one misinformation I saw on Al-Jazeera TV, the other night. There was an item that said that Uganda had deployed troops in Eastern Congo to help the Congo government fight the M-23 rebels. This is not true,” Museveni stated, responding to a report by Al Jazeera on the recent deployment of Ugandan troops in DRC. President Museveni reaffirmed that Uganda’s presence in DRC has “nothing to do with fighting the M23 rebels.” “With the mandate of the East African Force canceled by the Congolese government, the UPDF remains focused on two tasks: fighting the ADF alongside the Congolese Army and protecting the construction of the Kasindi-Beni-Butembo Road,” President Museveni clarified. He emphasized that the conflict between the Congolese government and the M23 rebels should be resolved through negotiations. “Right from the beginning, our advice to the involved parties in the Congo government-M-23 conflict, was negotiations.The history of that conflict is well known and the solutions are there. The regional conferences of EAC and SADC have guided on this. Those are the facts,” Museveni stated.

A little more informed. A little more connected.