Two MDF Soldiers Still Missing in DRC

Two Malawi Defence Force (MDF) soldiers are still missing since they were sent into the battlefield under Force Intervention Brigade before shooting with a rebel group called Allied Defence Force (ADF) in November 2018 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The Malawian soldiers were part of the United Nations Organisations Stabilisation Mission (Monusco) team which also has South African and Tanzanian troops.

During the intervention, six soldiers, who were part of the 850-member MDF squad, were killed and others injured.

MDF Public Information Officer Paul Chiphwanya said that the situation remains the same.

“As already communicated in the press statements issued after the tragedy, a number of procedures were put in place to ensure that the two missing soldiers are located and secured,” he said.

Chiphwanya dismissed reports that the soldiers are being held hostage in the enemy’s camp.

“We need not to speculate on this issue,” he said.

It was reported that at least 18 Malawian soldiers were victims of the operation.

ADF is an Islamic-rooted group that was formed in western Uganda in 1995, led by Jamil Mukulu, a Christian turned Muslim.

Forced out of Uganda, it operates in the border area in DRC’s North Kivu province.

It has been blamed for recruiting and using child soldiers, killing hundreds of civilians since 2014 as well as 15 Tanzanian peacekeepers who died in an attack in December 2017.