The Uganda Peoples Defense Forces -UPDF has so far put out of action over ten Allied Democratic Forces –ADF rebels in a fire exchange in Bwelamule sub county, Ntoroko district.
The army has sent reinforcements and URN saw over a dozen truckloads of armed troops approaching the battle zone.
At 6: 30 on Tuesday morning, the rebels attacked the villages of Kyobe and Kayanja in Bwelamule Subcounty Ntoroko District forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes.
Rtd Maj Edward Jones Mugairwe, the Resident District Commissioner of Ntoroko District told URN that in addition to killing 14 rebels, UPDF has also captured eight rebels and 17 riffles. The fighting was still still ongoing in the afternoon. Army spokesperson Brig Felix Kulayigye however put the number of dead rebels at 11.
Mugairwe says that the rebels who are estimated to be between 30-40 in number shot dead one civilian whom they tried to stop on the way and he refused to comply.
He adds that the Mountain Division Commander Maj Gen DiCk Olumu is at the frontline commanding the operation against the rebels. Maj Gen Olumu is also the commander operation shujja, a joint operation of UPDF and FARDC fighting the ADF in Democratic republic of Congo.
The head of security in the district says that the attack has caused panic among the residents who started fleeing from their homes early morning when the attack started.
However, he says that security personnel are on high alert and in two days the situation will be back to normal.
He says the locals have camped at Karugutu Primary School while others are in Rwebisengo.
He added that these will be encouraged to go back home after the situation has normalized and soldiers will be deployed to guard villages.
The RDC says that the motive of the Tuesday attack has not yet been known.
Formed in 1995, ADF is a long-standing insurgent group fighting the government of Ugandan and is currently operating in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo -DRC.
