Uganda has detained more than 100 former M23 rebels who were trying to return to neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Ugandan government on Thursday said the rebels had broken a deal to demobilize following their defeat in 2013.
The former fighters had been staying in camps in Uganda after years of fighting in chaotic eastern Congo. They were picked up in the Mbarara region in west Uganda as they tried to sneak into Congo in disguise, the government spokesman said.
Congo’s government reported the rebel moves last week amid mounting opposition to Congolese President Joseph Kabila, who has decided to stay in office beyond his mandate that expired last month. Protests have raise fears of a civil war.
“The Uganda Security intercepted four vehicles at Mbarara that were carrying 101 former M23 combatants who were travelling on their way to Democratic Republic of Congo,” spokesman Ofwono Opondo said in a statement.
He said the former fighters had been detained after they were caught trying to disguise who they were, adding that the ex-rebels were violating a deal reached in 2014 for them to stay in the Ugandan camps.
Opondo said 270 former M23 fighters were still at Bihanga Barracks, but added that a separate group of 40 had escaped a week ago and their whereabouts was still unclear.
