The Ugandan Air Force attacked and destroyed a big camp of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni announced Sunday.

The attack was conducted with the authorization of the Congolese government.

“Ugandans and other East Africans: This is to inform you that on Friday, with the authorization of the DRC government, the Ugandan Air Force attacked and destroyed a large ADF terrorist camp,” Museveni said on Twitter.

He noted that it was important for them to know the capacity Africa which possesses that can help it address chronic security challenges.

“The enemy, in desperation, has now fled beyond the boundary of our operations. The ignorant terrorists do not know that within just minutes -- not hours -- we can reach (them) with deadly fire, many areas, far beyond the line of the limit of exploitation,” said Museveni.

“Hence, on Friday, they got their deserved reward. Wherever they go, we shall reach them, as long as the Congo government allows us to operate with them,” he said, congratulating Ugandan and Congolese troops.

The Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda launched joint military operations to flush out the ADF in the east of DR Congo in late 2021.

But the operations have been criticized for doing little to improve the security situation, prompting calls by civil society groups to end them.

In the latest attack attributed to ADF rebels, two people were wounded by gunfire Sunday during an ambush that targeted a civilian vehicle on the Mbau-Kamango road in Beni territory, North Kivu, the Congolese military said.

The ADF have been attacking and killing civilians in eastern DR Congo for over two decades. The group killed more than 1,300 civilians last year, according to the UN.

The joint operations in North Kivu and Ituri provinces were launched following a triple suicide bombing in Uganda’s capital city Kampala in which seven people were killed and dozens injured.

The ADF pledged allegiance to Islamic State in 2019.

Last year, the US placed the ADF on its list of “terrorist organizations” affiliated with ISIS. By James Tasamba, Anadolu Agency

RwandAir inaugural flight to London. / Courtesy

Heathrow Airport, a major international airport in London on Monday, November 7, welcomed RwandAir maiden direct flight, in a move intended to cater for the airline’s growing demand.

A highly placed source confirmed to The New Times that the national carrier landed in the morning hours of Monday. Passengers left Kigali around midnight.

The inaugural flight puts an end to a five-year long indirect service, where passengers traveling to London previously went through Brussels.

The new four times weekly service will be operated by A330 Aircraft, configured with two cabins (economy and business).

According to the airline, this is an increase from the airline’s three times a week service.

Flights are expected to depart Kigali every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday at 23:35pm, arriving in London at 06:20am the following morning.

The return flight departs the British capital at 20:30pm every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, arriving at the Kigali International Airport at 07:00 the following morning.

According to RwandAir, the schedule will also provide quick and easy connections via Kigali to a wealth of destinations in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

“We are excited to launch direct flights to London, which are on sale from today, due to the popularity of our current services,”RwandAir’s Chief Executive, Yvonne Manzi Makolo, said in an earlier interview.

“The UK is an incredibly important market for us, and we know our customers will value the shorter flight times and increased connections that will be offered by the new service,” she added.

RwandAir has previously laid out plans to improve connections for those traveling from ‘further afield’.

Just recently, the airline announced that it was exploring the possibility of joining the OneWorld Alliance, a major network bringing together different commercial airlines around the world.

RwandAir currently serves 28 destinations across East, Central, West, and Southern Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Asia. By Sheena Teta Uwase, The New Times

The anchor is admitted at the Kenya National Hospital.

Legendary journalist and news anchor Catherine Kasavuli has been hospitalised with cervical cancer.

The Kenyatta National Hospital, where she is admitted in a private wing, is appealing for blood donations to aid in her treatment.

Friends and colleagues within the media fraternity are also appealing for prayers and moral support.

Kasavuli, nicknamed the TV queen, has been a mainstay of the Kenyan media landscape since the 1980s. She was among the first anchors to host a live television broadcast at a privately owned TV station in the 1990s before retiring in 2015.

In 2020, Kasavuli made her return to KBC where she currently hosts the Legend Edition show every weekend. Source: KBC