US army officers on tour to assess the operations against Alshabaab

US Army officers visited the operation against Alshabaab Central Wiliyah today. US officials have been monitoring the ongoing offensive every 6 months for the past 26 months to ensure accountability of their mercenaries on this frontline.

Uganda and DRC agree to start Dermacation of common border in May 2025

 

The border demarcation work between the DRC and Uganda will begin in May 2025. Experts from the two countries agreed on this Friday, September 6 in Goma (North Kivu), at the end of three days of meetings of the DRC-Uganda Joint Technical Commission, responsible for the reconstruction of the common border. At the same time, they validated the sequential budgets for the said work, which will be financed by the governments of the two respective countries. 

After three days of intense work, budgets were drawn up for the reaffirmation of the common border. Experts from the DRC and Uganda agreed on the effective start of demarcation of the common border in May 2025.

The segments concerned are: Bwindi/Sarambwe - Mount Sabinyo; Kampala/Kinshasa Market (Kambala) - Lake Albert; Vurra/Offo - DRC-Uganda-South Sudan Trijunction and Lubiriya Lamia River - Marguerite Peak. 

“This report will provide measures or regulations and even the roadmap for the implementation of this reaffirmation of borders. Uganda, we are committed to the implementation of these efforts and we are sure to go all the way. I would also like to express my appreciation and gratitude to the Presidents Heads of State of the DRC and Uganda, their Excellencies Felix Tshisekedi and Yoweri Kaguta Museveni for their commitment to ensuring the return of peace and security in the region. We are sure and certain that with good leadership at their level, there is nothing that cannot be resolved. Uganda and the DRC have a historic relationship and this will remain perpetually. We are brothers and sisters and we are committed to living together and if there is any problem, we will commit to finding a solution to it,” said Colonel Naboth Mwesigwa, head of the Ugandan delegation of experts. 

The delegation of Congolese experts was led by Vangu Mabiala Alphonse, Technical Director at the Permanent Border Commission at the Ministry of the Interior, assisted by Director Matthieu Mulala, responsible for border issues.

The Vice-Governor of North Kivu, Divisional Commissioner Jean Romuald Ekuka Lipopo, who officially closed this work, praised the firm determination of Presidents Félix Tshisekedi of the DRC and Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of Uganda to overcome the current difficulties through a diplomatic approach. 

"From the positive conclusions we have reached, the main thing in my eyes seems to be the solemn and reiterated confirmation of the firm will of our two brother countries to continue the work of demarcating our common border. And I remain convinced that our two countries will quickly implement the recommendations from this meeting. This reflects the enlightened vision and determination demonstrated by our two heads of state. Whatever the economic difficulties we are facing, it is always possible to overcome them through diplomatic approaches. This is an opportunity to thank and congratulate the experts of our two countries for having devoted their knowledge, energy and technical expertise to produce quality work in record time," said Divisional Commissioner Jean Romuald Ekuka Lipopo, Vice Governor of North Kivu. 

It should be noted that the budgets for the demarcation of the borders between the DRC and Uganda, at the level of Lake Albert and Lake Edward, have already been drawn up and are only awaiting funding from the governments of the two respective countries.

Congolese youth disguising as ADF have been arrested

The Congolese army announced that it had killed four rebels from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebellion and freed nine hostages during "combat patrols" carried out from September 4 to 6 to the east of the town of Biakato and along the Samboko and Ituri rivers.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Mak Hazukay, army spokesman in the area, two attackers were killed on Wednesday, September 4, and two others on Friday, September 6. Nine hostages were freed from the hands of the rebels, including "two Ugandans," said Lieutenant Colonel Mak Hazukay, spokesman for Sokola 1 operations. 

Military effects and several items belonging to the attackers were recovered.

This is the first time that large-scale operations have been carried out by the coalition of Congolese and Ugandan armies in the Biakato and Samboko area. Villages where hundreds of civilian deaths have been reported by civil society over the past two years.

To successfully carry out these operations, the Congolese army is asking the population "to avoid going deep into the forest where the fighting is taking place" and to continue to accompany the two armies in order to prevent "the enemy from protecting the west of national roads number four and 44", adds Lieutenant Colonel Mak Hazukay.

YOUTH DISGUISING AS ADF

The FARDC dismantled a group of young people who used to disguise themselves as ADF rebels in the Mayuwano area, an entity located in the Mambasa territory on national road No. 44, Beni-Mambasa axis.

According to Colonel Truno, commander on this axis, it was during the military operations carried out on the night of Thursday 5 to Friday 6 September 2024.

"They disguise themselves as "fake ADF", they arrive in a village and fire bullets so that civilians leave and stay harvesting cocoa and looting shops," he said.

These arrested civilians are almost all young people from the community, including three women, all handed over to the specialist services for the opening of legal files.

The army claims to have recovered weapons and military effects during this tracking operation.

As a reminder, the "fake ADF" phenomenon had become, these days, recurrent in Mambasa and Beni in North Kivu where the active forces had several times alerted the specialized services, calling on them to get involved in dislodging the perpetrators who plunder cocoa in the region. In their media outings, they had even asked the specialized services to regulate the cocoa purchasing sector to try to overcome the problem of fake ADF.

 

DRC refuse to sign the China-EAC security cooperation pact citing the community's failure to condemn Rwanda on its role on incursion on its soil and support for M23

 The Democratic Republic of Congo took part this Saturday, September 7, 2024 in Beijing, China, in the first ministerial dialogue focused on international cooperation for the application of the security law, sanctioned by the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the cooperation of the police chiefs of East African countries and the Chinese Ministry of Public Security (EAPCCO), reports a dispatch from the Ministry of the Interior.

The Congolese government, represented by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Interior and Security, Jacquemain Shabani, reserved the right to sign this document due to the lack of condemnation from the East African Community (EAC) regarding the aggression against the DRC in its eastern part by its neighbor, Rwanda. Nevertheless, the head of Congolese security expressed the DRC's wish to maintain cooperation with the land of the rising sun with a view to improving the well-being of the population and its security.

"Let me, as Minister of the Interior of the DRC, underline our reservation regarding its commitment to this memorandum of understanding that was signed today. Being a member of the East African community, mastering and realizing the values ​​and principles of our community, which were recalled during our discussions today, among others the protection of the territories of our different countries, principles violated against our country, the Democratic Republic of Congo and until now never condemned by the East African community. The DRC marks its reservation and will favor its bilateral relationship between it and the People's Republic of China," declared Jacquemain Shabani from the top of the podium of the conference room of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security.

During his speech, Jacquemain Shabani stressed the importance of this first ministerial dialogue which, for him, is part of the construction of a new platform for cooperation in law enforcement with a view to a security sharing community between China and East Africa, of which the DRC is a member.

This refusal of the DRC to sign this memorandum is also explained by its desire to safeguard its guiding principles, among others the respect of territorial integrity and the inviolability of its borders. Jacquemain Shabani specified that his country will rather favor bilateral china-Congolese cooperation.

Fighting between M23 and Wazalendo erupts in Nyamitaba this sunday

 This Sunday, September 8, 2024, fighting broke out between the Congolese army (FARDC) and the M23 rebels in North Kivu. According to local sources, the clashes are concentrated on the Nyamitaba -Muheto axis, with the support of the Wazalendo to the FARDC . Sources claim that the M23 has been dislodged from Kibirwa. Detonations of heavy and light weapons have been reported since the morning, while the situation remains tense in the area.

DRC acquires the AKASH NG multifunctional radar system.

 

 DRC recently acquired the AKash NG multifunction radar system (MFR) from the Indian company Bharat Electronics Limited

The Democratic Republic of Congo has established a partnership with the Indian company BEL. 

The Akash NG is a very advanced air defense radar system, capable of shooting down all enemy flying objects at high altitude.

The Akash (sky) is an all-weather medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed as part of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). 

The Akash (sky) is an all-weather medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed as part of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). 

The Akash (sky) is an all-weather medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed in India. It provides multidirectional and multitarget area defence.

The missile system was indigenously developed as part of the integrated guided-missile development programme (IGMDP) to replace the Russian 2K12 Kub (SA-6 Gainful) missile system.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) of India developed and integrated the Akash SAM, in partnership with public and private companies.

The Akash SAM system – including the associated radars, missile and systems – took 20 years to develop, with an investment of $120m.

Other countries that have developed multitarget handling surface-to-air missile systems are the US, some EU countries, Russia, Israel and Japan.

DRDO is currently developing the Akash-NG (New Generation), an enhanced version of Akash SAM. A successful flight test of the Akash-NG missile was conducted at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur, Odisha in January 2024.

The missile intercepted and destroyed a high-speed, low-altitude unmanned aerial target during the test flight. The successful completion of the flight test has laid the groundwork for subsequent user trials.

Akash SAM system features

The Akash missile is 5.8m long, has a diameter of 350mm and a wingspan of 1,105mm. It has a launch weight of 720kg.

The missile can fly at a speed of up to Mach 2.5 and has a height ceiling of 18km. The 60kg payload can use prefabricated tungsten alloy cube warheads or a nuclear warhead.

The Akash SAM system consists of an integral ramjet propulsion, a switchable guidance antenna system, a command guidance unit, an onboard power supply, a system arming and detonation mechanism, digital autopilot, radars and C4I centres.

The most important element of the Akash SAM system battery is its high-power, multi-function Rajendra phased array radar.

The 3D passive electronically scanned array Rajendra radar (PESA) can electronically scan and guide the missile towards targets. It provides information on the range, azimuth and height of a flying target.

Akash SAM development timeline and tests

Development of the Akash missile system began in the 1980s, involving the work of 300 public and private companies.

In operation from 1983 to 2007, the programme developed a range of missiles, including the Nag, Agni and Trishul missiles and the Prithvi ballistic missile.

The flight tests were initiated in 1990 and the development flights continued till 1997. Several user trials of the missile system were conducted and its ballistic missile role was proven successful.

In 2008, the Indian Air Force (IAF) introduced its indigenous SAM system after nine successful field trials. Some modifications to the Akash SAM, such as the launch platform, were made to the army version to meet mobility and gradeability requirements.

Akash missile launch details

The Akash missile can be launched from static or mobile platforms, such as battle tanks, providing flexible deployment. The SAM can handle multitarget and destroy manoeuvring targets such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), fighter aircraft, cruise missiles and missiles launched from helicopters.

The Akash SAM system defends vulnerable areas in all weather conditions against medium-range air targets from being attacked from low, medium and high altitudes.

It can operate autonomously and engage and neutralise different aerial targets simultaneously. The kill probability of the Akash is 88% for the first and 99% for the second missile on a target.

The Akash SAM is claimed to be more economical and accurate than the MIM-104 Patriot, operated by several nations including the US, due to its solid-fuel technology. The Akash can intercept from a range of 30km and provide air defence missile coverage of 2,000km².

Rajendra radars and PESA antenna array

The Akash battery has four Rajendra radars and four launchers interlinked together and controlled by the group control centre. Each launcher, equipped with three missiles, is controlled by one radar that can track 16 targets.

The Rajendra radar can track 64 targets and simultaneously guide 12 Akash missiles. The PESA antenna array has a swivel of 360° on a rotating platform. The Rajendra radar can detect up to a radius of 80km and engage at a range of 60km at an altitude of 8km.

The communication links, command and control nodes, sensors and self-propelled launchers of the entire Akash SAM system are IT-integrated. The weapons system uses radar vehicles and T-72 tank chassis for launchers.

Detonation sequence and mechanism

The prefragmented warhead of the Akash missile is coupled with a digital proximity fuse. The detonation sequence is controlled by safety arming and a detonation mechanism. The missile is also integrated with a self-destructive device. Unlike the Patriot missile, Akash uses a ramjet propulsion system which gives it thrust to intercept the target at supersonic speed without any speed deceleration.

The terminal guidance system of the missile enables its working through electronic countermeasures.

The Rajendra radar alone guides the Akash missile, which increases its efficacy against electronic jamming of aircraft.

Akash-NG (new generation) missile

Akash-NG is an advanced missile system capable of neutralising high-velocity, agile aerial threats.

In July 2021, the Akash-NG missile was successfully tested in a flight test conducted in Chandipur. The missile successfully intercepted a high-speed unmanned aerial target.

The flight test validated the performance of the entire weapon system, comprising a domestically developed radio frequency (RF) seeker-equipped missile, launcher, multi-function radar, and command, control, and communication system.

In August 2023, Bharat Dynamics provided the first radio RF seeker for the Akash-NG weapon system. The seeker is crucial for SAMs and air-to-air missiles as it tracks targets during the final phase with advanced technology.

Contractors and partnerships for Akash (sky) SAM development project

Several defence research and development organisations’ labs were involved in the development of the missile including the Defence Research & Development Laboratory, the Research & Development Establishment, the Combat Vehicles Research & Development Establishment, the High Energy Materials Research Laboratory and the Armament Research & Development Establishment.

The Rajendra or Battery Level Radar-III was developed by the Electronics & Radar Development Establishment and manufactured at Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).

The contractors for Akash SAM system production are BEL for radar and electronic support systems; Tata Power and Larsen & Toubro for the launcher systems; Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) for missile systems. BDL is also the system integrator and nodal agency for Akash SAM production for the army.

Orders and deliveries

In June 2010, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) of India allocated Rs125bn ($2.8bn) for the army version Akash missile system for induction into the Indian Army.

In March 2023, India’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) finalised contracts to procure an upgraded Akash weapon system and 12 weapon locating

 radars from WLR (Swathi-Plains) for the Indian Army, totalling more than Rs91bn.

The leaders of UPDF,KDF and RDF are meeting in Kigali to discuss me key issues in Security more especially fighting terrorism.

The top miltary leaders of the countries involved in the Northern Corridor Integration Projects (NCIP) which are Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda, met in Kigali, and assessed together the status of military cooperation.

This two-day meeting, which started on Thursday, September 5, 2024, is being held in Kigali, where the participants will see together what has been achieved in the projects agreed by these member countries.

Among the projects agreed by these three countries that should be examined in this meeting, include cooperation in preventing, dealing with and resolving riots and conflicts, preventing genocide, fighting terrorism, fighting and fighting against theft, cooperation in peace efforts, disaster risk reduction.

These countries have also agreed on other projects including how to handle military forces in times of conflict, tracking and combating the illegal proliferation of small and large arms, dealing with cross-border crimes, collecting and sharing information in espionage for the purpose of combating wrongdoing is done.

On behalf of the Minister of Defence, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, Brig Gen Celestin Kanyamahanga; He said that this meeting aims to examine together the challenges and to look together at the achievements in the implementation of the decisions that have been taken.

He also took the opportunity to ask the participants of the meeting, to invite experts to show what should be done, in order to find a common solution to the current problems, in the interests of the member countries.

The participants of the meeting emphasized that cooperation in military activities is necessary, especially in joint military exercises, in the sharing of intelligence information, in research and development in the field of the military.

DRC -Uganda joint technical commission to demarcate the common border between the two countries has been meeting in Goma discussing a road map and budget to implement the demarcation project

 

Since Wednesday, September 4, the DRC-Uganda joint technical commission has been discussing a road map and the budget for implementing the project to demarcate the common border between the DRC and Uganda, in North Kivu. These discussions which are being held in Goma aim to resolve the boundary conflicts which have opposed the two neighboring countries for a long time.

71 km long, the border boundary zone concerned by this project runs from Mount Sabinyo to Bwindi, on the boundary between Bwindi National Park (Uganda) and the Sarambwe Nature Reserve (DRC), passing through the DRC-Uganda-Rwanda tripoint. These regions are located in eastern Rutshuru territory and southwestern Uganda.

To date, only 16 markers mark the limits between the two countries, leaving room for the persistence of border conflicts. Hence the need to define concrete actions, according to Vangu Mabyala, expert from the Congolese Ministry of the Interior.

“The purpose of this meeting is to develop the budget for the border demarcation work to reveal, on the ground, the demarcation line,” he said.

Colonel Naboth Mwesigwa, head of the delegation of Ugandan experts, who does not recognize the multiple boundary conflicts between the two countries, affirms that this demarcation operation is rather preventive:

“There is no conflict and we have never been at war with the DRC but we are here to reassure ourselves that if there are some cross-border disagreements, that this is addressed for the benefit of both countries” .

More than 765 km of borders separate Uganda and the DRC, from Ituri to the east of the Rutshuru territory in North Kivu. Most of the border line affected by the current demarcation project is located in the east of the area currently occupied by the M23 rebellion supported by Rwanda.

FDLR-FOCA(Abacunguzi) kingpins who give President Kagame bad dreams and hysteria!Will Tshisekedi hand them over to Kigali?

 

1. Gaston Iyamuremye

Age: 76 years old

Interim President, former major in the Ex-FAR, born in 1948 in Ruhengeri.

2. Ntawunguka Pacific (Omega):

Age: 60 years old

Military leader of the FDLR (FOCA), born in 1964 in Gisenyi, he studied at the Military Academy and was battalion commander during the genocide.

3. Gakwerere Ezekiel:

Age: 60 years old

Secretary General, born in 1964 in Kibungo, implicated in atrocities during the genocide.

4. Hakizimana Apollinaire:

Age: 60 years old

Military commissioner, born in 1964 in Gisenyi, former head of intelligence of ALiR, sanctioned by the international community.

5. Sébastien Uwimbabazi:

Age: 56 years old

Head of military intelligence, born in 1968 in Kibuye, former gendarme who fled to Nyanza during the Rwandan genocide

Clashes between M23 rebels and Wazalendo militiamen in Machumbi

  

Violent fighting has been reported since the early hours of Tuesday, September 3, 2024, between M23 rebels and Wazalendo militiamen, in the locality of Bibwe, village of Machumbi, near Nyange, Bashali Mokoto group, territory of Masisi, in the North -Kivu.

According to Twizere Havugimana, a youth leader in the region, the M23 rebels attacked the Wazalendo positions, erected a few meters from Machumbi, at 5 a.m., once again causing the displacement of certain inhabitants of this part of Bashali.

This official specifies that at the time of writing this article, hostilities continue in these entities where the Wazalendo are resisting the enemy, although the population has fled the area.

Furthermore, a temporary lull is reported in the Ufamandu I grouping, after the violent clashes between these belligerents throughout the day of Monday, September 2, 2024, in the villages of Kachai, Ngololo, Dépôt and Mayuwano, disrupting school activities in this part of the Bahunde chiefdom.

According to local civil society, no weapons fire has been reported in this area since these attacks carried out by the VDP against the M23 rebels.

Mikairi Excellent, an actor in this citizen structure, specifies that despite this lull, there is no sign of a resumption of classes in these villages, not only because of the recent clashes, but also because of the presence of M23 elements in this group. .

 There is a bit of a lull in the areas attacked yesterday by the Wazalendo. These young people have further withdrawn from these areas under enemy control, but the inhabitants remain in their areas of refuge, because it is still dangerous for the population to return there. 

It should be noted that it is difficult to establish an assessment on all the front lines in the chiefdoms of Bashali and Bahunde, because the M23 rebels continue to destabilize the population