This information was confirmed by Ugandan motor-mouthed journalist Andrew Mwenda, who stated that he spoke with the Chief of Uganda's Defense Forces, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, a close friend of his.
'I was speaking with the Chief of Defense Forces, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba. He wanted to inform the country that Uganda's special forces have entered Bunia, in eastern DRC, the capital of Ituri Province. He made a promise, and he has fulfilled it,' Mwenda said.
He explained that Muhoozi's decision was triggered by a breakdown in communication between the governments of Uganda and DRC. The two nations had initially agreed to deploy their troops to fight armed groups killing civilians in Bunia on February 5, but the DRC later changed its position.
'We had an agreement with the Kinshasa government to deploy the UPDF in Bunia last Wednesday. They canceled the operation at the last minute. Meanwhile, civilians speaking Runyakitara are being killed,' he stated.
On February 15, 2025, Gen. Muhoozi announced that he would deploy troops to Bunia to stop the killings of the Hima people. That same day, he gave an ultimatum, demanding that all armed forces in the area surrender their weapons within 24 hours.
'Under the leadership of General Yoweri Museveni, the Commander-in-Chief of the UPDF, I am giving all armed forces in Bunia 24 hours to lay down their weapons! If they do not comply, we will treat them as enemies and engage them,' Muhoozi declared.
Two days later, Uganda's military command, which has been engaged in operations against the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in the DRC, met with the Congolese military leadership in Ituri to discuss the possibility of expanding their joint operations.
The spokesperson for the Congolese army in Ituri, Lt. Jules Ngongo, stated that this is not the first time Ugandan forces have been deployed in the province, suggesting that there was prior agreement regarding their presence in Bunia.
On February 18, footage emerged showing Ugandan military vehicles and tanks moving toward Bunia, a city that has frequently suffered attacks from armed groups such as ADF and CODECO.
IGIHE
Source : https://en.igihe.com/news/article/updf-deploys-special-forces-in-bunia-drc
