KAMPALA, Uganda
Ugandan officials have
rebuffed a UN Group of Experts report accusing Uganda of harbouring M23 rebels,
describing the claims as an attempt to strain relations with neighbouring
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).Uganda's CDF Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba with his DRC counterpart, Gen. Christian Tshiwewe in the town of Kasindi in Eastern DRC recently.
Uganda People's Defence Forces
said the country respects the DRC's borders and territorial integrity and only
conducts cross-border operations with the consent of Kinshasa government.
Brig. Gen. Felix Kulayigye,
the Director of Defence Public Information in Uganda, told Anadolu that he is
not aware of M23 rebels' presence in the country.
The UN Group of Experts report
said that Uganda is providing sanctuary to the rebels and passage to the Rwanda
Defence Forces troops, who travel to Eastern DRC to fight alongside M23
fighters against the DRC government.
The UN sanctions prevent M23
rebel leaders from travelling abroad, but the UN experts indicated that Uganda
allows them to travel through its territory and Entebbe International Airport.
M23 rebel group said their
teams deployed outside their operation zones in Kampala and other cities in
East Africa and Southern Africa were only intended for peace talks.
"Regarding the matter, we
would like to remind the United Nations Group of Experts that our teams (either
delegation or representation) have always been deployed outside the area under
our control for reasons of peace and not war," a statement issued by
Lawrence Kanyuka, the spokesperson of the M23 rebel commander, reads in part.
"This is particularly the
case with certain capitals of some countries in the East and Southern Africa
regions, which have long served as venues for talks between our organisation
and the Kinshasa regime to bring peace to our country," the M23 noted.
Uganda is embroiled in a web
of accusations and denials concerning its role in the volatile conflict in
eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Despite Uganda People's
Defence Forces (UPDF) officially supporting DRC government forces against
Allied Democratic Forces rebels, Kampala faces accusations of aiding M23
rebels.
The Ugandan government
vehemently denies direct involvement in DRC's internal conflicts, saying its
military presence is part of regional peacekeeping efforts.
Uganda, like Rwanda, has
previously intervened militarily in eastern DRC, citing defence against rebel
groups in 1996 and 1998.
The accusations of a
duplicitous mission by Uganda highlight the complex dynamics of security
concerns of neighbouring countries and cross-border military networks which are
state and non-state sponsored.
Foreign intervention in
eastern DRC has long been a focal point for discussions in either exacerbating
or mitigating violence.
The dynamics and the
precarious balance between seeking peace and navigating the intricate web of
alliances and animosities have increased the risk of sucking neighbouring
countries deeply into the conflict.
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