by Louis Kolumbia
Dar es Salaam — Tanzania People's Defence Forces (TPDF) (click here) has said the bodies of 14 soldiers killed during an attack in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will arrive either on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Addressing a press conference on Sunday, December 10, the TPDF chief of staff, Lt-Gen James Mwakibolwa, said the government and the United Nations were collaborating to return the bodies of the fallen soldiers.
"TPDF has communicated with the families of the slain soldiers. The government will take appropriate measures, including investigating the incident at the scene," he said, noting that the names of slain soldiers would be disclosed later.
Describing the incident that claimed 14 lives of TPDF peacekeepers, wounding 44 with two still missing, Lt-Gen Mwakibolwa said the fallen soldiers were killed during an attack by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF)....
Unfortunately, when peacekeepers do their jobs well, this occurs. They stood their ground. They are very honorable people.
Reason for listing:
The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) was listed on30 June 2014 pursuant to the criteria set out in paragraph 4 of resolution 2078 (2012).
Additional information:
The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) was created in 1995 and is located in the mountainous DRC-Uganda border area. According to the United Nations Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (“GoE”) 2013 final report, citing Ugandan officials and UN sources, in 2013 the ADF had an estimated strength of 1,200 to 1,500 armed fighters located in north-east Beni Territory of North Kivu province, close to the border with Uganda. These same sources estimate ADF’s total membership — including women and children — to be between 1,600 and 2,500. Due to offensive military operations by the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC) and the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) conducted in 2013 and 2014, ADF dispersed its fighters to numerous smaller bases, and moved women and children to areas west of Beni, and along the Ituri-North Kivu border. The ADF’s military commander is Hood Lukwago and its supreme leader is the sanctioned individual Jamil Mukulu.
The ADF has committed serious violations of international law and UNSCR 2078 (2012), including as detailed below.
The ADF has recruited and used child soldiers in violation of applicable international law (UNSCR paragraph 4 (d))....
