Nearly 100 police officers from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have fled to neighboring Uganda over the weekend as the conflict between M23 rebels and the Congolese military in eastern DRC intensified. Major Kiconco Tabaro, a regional spokesperson for the Uganda People’s Defence Forces, confirmed the officers’ arrival on Monday.
The officers, who crossed into Uganda via the Ishasha border in Kanungu district, brought with them 43 guns and ammunition. “They were fleeing fighting by M23 and other militias and the Congo military. There’s a lot of violence there, and there’s also hunger,” Tabaro explained. The officers were subsequently disarmed upon their arrival.
In addition to the police officers, the intensifying violence has driven at least 2,500 Congolese refugees into Uganda over the past four days. The refugees, including pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and young children, cited escalating violence and insecurity as the main reasons for their flight.
The M23 rebel group has been waging a fresh insurgency in eastern DRC since 2022. A recent United Nations report suggested that the Ugandan army has provided support to the Tutsi-led rebel group, a claim Uganda denies. The U.N. has also accused Rwanda of backing the M23, which has seized large parts of mineral-rich eastern DRC on multiple occasions. Rwanda has consistently denied these allegations.
Efforts by the Congolese military to counter the rebels have intensified over the past year, with the use of drones and aircraft. Despite these efforts, the M23 has continued to expand its territory. In June, the rebels seized Kanyabayonga, a strategically important town in North Kivu province, known for its high ground and as a gateway to other parts of eastern DRC.
The ongoing conflict in North Kivu has displaced more than 1.7 million people, contributing to a total of 7.2 million internally displaced persons in the DRC, according to U.N. estimates. The humanitarian crisis continues to escalate as the fighting shows no signs of abating.
Melissa Enoch
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