Ugandan, Congolese presidents discuss security cooperation

By Hamza Kyeyune

KAMPALA, Uganda, (AA) - Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni met Wednesday with his Congolese counterpart Felix Tshisekedi at State House Uganda to discuss regional security and infrastructural developments, including key roads.

“We are all in agreement that what Congo needs is what Uganda needs. Hence, we have discussed everything here, and I thank H.E. Tshisekedi for responding positively to my invitation for this meeting,” Museveni said in a statement.

The statement added Uganda’s defense forces are engaged in a military operation along with the Congolese military (FARDC) to pursue the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) -- an armed group with ties to the Daesh/ISIS terror group, which has been launching attacks on Ugandan soil from bases in eastern Congo.

Tshisekedi’s visit follows South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s visit to Uganda, in which he discussed the situation in the volatile eastern Congo.

Eastern Congo has been embroiled in violence since the 1990s. Millions have been killed and displaced in civil wars. Over 100 armed groups operate in the volatile region.

The security crisis and heavy fighting between the Congolese army and the M23 rebel group in the east have forced many residents to flee to Uganda.