Uganda Tightens Security Along Western Border Over Rebel Threat

29th Jun 2010 11:24

KAMPALA, Uganda (Dow Jones)--The Ugandan army has increased its presence along the country's oil-rich western border with the volatile Eastern Congo over a rebel threat, an army spokesman said Tuesday. According to Major Patrick Kamara, the spokesman of Uganda's second army division, the Ugandan army has established that the Ugandan rebel group, the Allied Democratic Forces, which has bases in Eastern Congo is planning to attack the country following a Congolese offensive against them. "We are ready for them, our security and intelligence forces are on the ground," he said. The ADF rebels last attacked the western border region of Uganda in 2007 with the intention of disrupting oil exploration activities but were quickly repulsed. According to military sources, the ADF attacked the Congolese town of Mutwanga Monday, which is around 50 kilometers from the Ugandan border; the rebels were fleeing an offensive mounted by Congo's United Nations-backed army. At least 1 billion barrels of oil have been discovered by U.K.-based Tullow Oil PLC (TLW.LN) and Heritage Oil PLC (HOIL.LN) in three blocks in Uganda's Lake Albert basin and preparations are underway to develop the oil fields. However, neighboring mineral-rich but lawless Eastern Congo is infested with hundreds of armed militias, including the ADF. While exploration activities on the Ugandan side have been going on since the late 1990s, similar activities on the Congolese side have been curtailed mainly due to the insecure situation. Since last year, the U.N. observer mission in Congo, Monuc, has been spearheading an offensive against rebel dissidents and militias in Eastern Congo. However, aid agencies have criticized the offensive, blaming it for displacing tens of thousands of civilians. -By Nicholas Bariyo, contributing to Dow Jones Newswires; 256-75-2624615 [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 29, 2010 06:24 ET (10:24 GMT)