Due to the ongoing war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the neighboring country of Uganda is strengthening its positions in the Eastern DRC.
Ugandan President, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, on the other hand is advising the Congo-Kinshasa leader, Felix Tshisekedi to start negotiations with the March 23 rebel group.
Reports from Entebbe indicate that the Ugandan People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) have moved to strengthen their positions in the DR Congo territory, following recent escalated violence in the country’s eastern region.
The Ugandan Defense Forces (UPDF) has announced that it will adopt a defensive posture to barricade their own precinct in in the country, until the crisis in the DR Congo is over, and normalcy returns.
The Ugandan military further reiterated that their forces remain armed and simply intend to only prevent other negative armed groups like the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels to protect Uganda’s interests in Congolese territory.
According to the UPDF statement, the Ugandan armies are not confronting the deadly Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), the politico-military movement operating in Eastern DRC and the March 23 forces.
Meanwhile, Uganda President Yoweri Museveni has advised his Congolese counterpart Félix Tshisekedi to change his stance and negotiate with the rebel groups.
Museveni feels it is high time the Kinshasa State House held an audience with the coalition of Alliance Fleuve Congo and March 23, in order to attain peace in Eastern DR Congo.
But a few days earlier, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) government had rejected any dialogue with the March 23 Movement (M23) armed group.
That is despite the fact that M23 rebels had earlier claimed to be open for direct dialogue.
However the DR Congo Defense Minister, Guy Kabombo maintained a stance that Kinshasa will not sit down with the rebels for negotiations.
Minister Kabombo told the country’s armed forces that he had ordered that all plans and instructions concerning an alleged dialogue with M23 terrorists be completely burned down.