Nearly 100 police officers from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) fled to Uganda over the weekend as fighting between M23 rebels and the Congolese military intensified in eastern part of the country.
The officers, 98 in number, arrived at the Ishasha border in southwestern Uganda with 43 guns and ammunition, which were then confiscated by Ugandan authorities.
Spokesperson for the Uganda People’s Defence Forces, Major Kiconco Tabaro, stated that the officers were escaping violence and hunger caused by the conflict involving M23 and other militias in the region.
“They were fleeing fighting by M23 and other militias and the Congo military. There’s a lot of violence there and then there’s also hunger,” Tabaro said.
Over the past four days, about 2,500 Congolese refugees, including pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and young children, have also crossed into Uganda due to the escalating violence and insecurity.
The M23 rebel group, which has been active in eastern Congo since 2022, is accused of receiving support from the Ugandan army, a claim Uganda denies.
The United Nations has previously accused Rwanda of backing M23, an allegation Rwanda also denies.
Efforts by Congo’s military to combat the rebels have increased, but the M23 has continued to gain control over more areas, including the strategic town of Kanyabayonga.
The ongoing conflict in North Kivu has displaced over 1.7 million people, contributing to a total of 7.2 million displaced individuals in Congo due to various conflicts, according an estimate by the UN.