Bartamaha (Kampala):- Materials and equipment captured from bases of the Allied Democratic Forces in the lawless Eastern Congo indicate that the rebel outfit has been expanding operational links with the Somali militants of al Shabaab in recent years, the Ugandan army said Tuesday.

Lieutenant Colonel Felix Kuliagye, Uganda’s defense and army spokesman, told Dow Jones Newswires that documents and logistical materials captured from the ADF in the ongoing offensive by the Congolese forces have confirmed intelligence reports that the ADF has created wide spread operational links with the al Shabaab in recent years. The al Shabaab have claimed responsibility for the July 11 terror attacks in Uganda.

“As we have been saying, both the al Shabaab and the ADF are being trained by al Qaeda,” he said, adding that the ADF worked closely with the al Shabaab militants to execute the July 11 attacks in Kampala that left up to 79 people dead.

Congo’s UN-backed army has since July been battling the ADF rebels on the Congolese side of the oil-rich Albertine rift. The Ugandan army has increased its troop presence along the border to prevent any infiltration.

The ADF was formed by remnants of a former Ugandan rebel group, the National Army for the Liberation of Uganda in the early 1990s. The rebel group is mainly comprised of Islamic fundamentalists who claim to fight for the rights of Ugandan Muslims. The ADF was involved in numerous urban terrorist attacks in Uganda in the late 1990s before it retreated to Eastern Congo.

According to Kuliagye, the ADF remains a security threat to Uganda’s oil-rich western border, but Ugandan troops are well equipped to deal with any threats. In 2007, the ADF infiltrated the oil region but were swiftly repulsed.

Kuliagye further said that the Ugandan army is ready to help out the Congolese army in the offensive against the ADF should Congo request for any assistance.

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Source:-Wall Street Journal.

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