ADF fighters attacked a high school on the night of Friday to Saturday, leaving at least 41 dead and shocking both Uganda and the DRC. The attack has raised questions about the effectiveness of the joint military operation, carried out by the Congolese and Ugandan armies on Congolese soil, against this movement which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.
On January 15th, there had already been an attack in Kasindi, a border town with Uganda. At least 17 people had lost their lives. Then there was the June 11th attack, still in Kasindi. Eight people including three women were killed with machetes. Saturday’s attack took place in the same area, this time across the border.
Kinshasa and Kampala recognize the porous borders and the failure of the community alert system, both of which Yoweri Museveni publicly acknowledged and attributed to the complicities that allow the ADF to access fuel.
On the military level, a first meeting took place locally on Monday, June 19th between Congolese and Ugandan officers, after the attack on the school. The two parties are also working on the planning of the 4th phase of the joint operation with particular emphasis on the Mwalika Valley and the Komanda-Luna section, on the National Road N°4.
For its part, Uganda promises to increase the level of alert and deployment on its territory. The other project remains the fight against ADF financing networks.