Nearly 100 police officers from the Democratic Republic of Congo fled to neighboring Uganda over the weekend as fighting between M23 rebels and the Congolese military escalated in eastern Congo, a Ugandan military spokesperson reported on Monday.
The officers crossed into Uganda through the Ishasha border in Kanungu district, southwestern Uganda, according to Major Kiconco Tabaro, regional spokesperson for the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF).
“They were fleeing fighting by M23 and other militias, as well as the Congo military. There’s a lot of violence and hunger,” Tabaro said.
Over the past four days, at least 2,500 more Congolese refugees have arrived in Uganda to escape the ongoing violence across the border, he added. Among the refugees are pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and young children.
“The main push factor is the intensifying violence and insecurity,” Tabaro noted.
The M23 rebel group has been waging a renewed insurgency in Congo’s eastern regions since 2022. A recent United Nations report seen by Reuters accused the Ugandan army of supporting the Tutsi-led rebel group, an allegation Uganda denies.
