Africa-Press – Uganda. Cooperative for Development of the Congo (CODECO), once a peaceful agricultural cooperative, became a fragmented rebel movement. UN officials accuse affiliated militias of massacres and war crimes. It is now described as an armed political-religious, Lendu militia, or political-military group.
The Ugandan army reported it killed 242 CODECO fighters after hundreds from the Cooperative for Development of the Congo (CODECO) attacked a Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) post in Fataki, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), on Wednesday and Thursday, Ugandan military spokesperson Chris Magezi stated.
According to him, the UPDF retaliated, killing 31 militants the first day and 211 the second, with one UPDF soldier killed and four injured.
CODECO spokesperson Basa Zukpa Gerson disputes this, saying that the group lost only two fighters and that UPDF casualties were higher.Seventy rebels and 12 Ugandan soldiers reportedly died in the clashes. CODECO and a local leader confirmed further fighting Saturday morning.
Uganda deployed troops to Congo in 2021 to help fight the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an Islamic State*-affiliated rebel group known for brutal attacks. According to Magezi, UPDF troops were recently sent to northern Ituri to prevent ADF infiltration and stop refugees crossing into Uganda.
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