Anti-terrorism In SW: Beware Of Misinformation

“T he Minister Delegate at the Presi­ dency in charge of Defence hereby informs: in the early hours of Friday, 17 July 2026, acting on intelligence provided by members of the local population, the Defence and Security Forces conducted a major combing operation at the junction of the villages of Batanga and Asaka, in Akwaya Subdivision, Manyu Division, South-West Region. This operation was aimed at neu­ tralising dangerous terrorists who were planning violent attacks within the Region, including the destruction of fixed commu­ nications infrastructure. As the infiltration unit approached, the hea­ vily armed terrorists opened fire in an at­ tempt to halt their advance. The Defence and Security Forces responded in an ap­ propriate and professional manner, suc­ cessfully neutralising the hostile elements. The operation yielded the following re­ sults: • Casualties: Five (05) terrorists neutralised; Several other terrorists fled the scene and are currently being actively pursued. • Material: Several military-grade firearms and asso­ ciated accessories, two (02) improvised ex­ plosive devices (IEDs) and approximately ten bladed weapons recovered. Following this crushing defeat, underground propaganda networks are attempting to flood digital platforms with false information, decontextualized and unauthentic images, and unfounded allegations intended to por­ tray the Defence and Security Forces as having perpetrated an indiscriminate mas­ sacre and the destruction of civilian pro­ perty. These allegations are entirely false. The Ministry of Defence categorically refutes these distorted claims, which are being in­ sidiously disseminated with the intention of underminin...