DR Congo announces joint operations with Uganda army to defeat Islamist rebels

A joint operation between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo to defeat Islamist rebels is underway.

According to the Congolese government, Kampala and Kinshasa armies are setting up an operations hub in the DR Congo’s east for a joint offensive against the rebels.

The latter are responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people in the last year, Kinshasa said.

On Sunday, a delegation from the Ugandan Peoples Defense Force arrived in Beni in the DR Congo’s North Kivu province to build the center up.

The delegation includes commander of Uganda’s ground forces, Kinshasa’s communication ministry said Wednesday.

A Congolese army spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

But a spokesman of the Ugandan army told AFP that he could not confirm the information given by Congolese government.

On May 3, the DRC introduced martial law in North Kivu and Ituri provinces.

It hopes that the law will aid in tacking deteriorating bloodshed in a swathe of territory along its border with Uganda.

The two countries were rivals during the DR Congo’s civil wars.

The war officially ended in 2003. Since then, relations between the two have at times been strained.

Last month, Kinshasa said it was seeking over $4 billion in reparations from Uganda for its role in the 1998 to 2003 conflicts.