The reported release of more than 140 people abducted by ADF rebels in Mambasa, Ituri, marks a fresh step in ongoing joint military operations by the Congolese and Ugandan armies, according to a 7SUR7 report. Local officials said the hostages were recovered during FARDC-UPDF operations on the Mambasa-Lolwa axis and would soon be returned to their families.

Deputy military administrator Colonel Maxime Tshishimbi said the coalition’s operations had been producing results on the front lines since their launch in the area.

Provincial deputy Gilbert Kasereka Sivamwenda also said that more than 50 hostages were freed on Thursday in Bengasoli and Mabukuli, in the Babila-Bakwanza chiefdom along the Ituri River, according to the same report.The reported rescue comes after a string of deadly ADF attacks in Mambasa. On April 11, Radio Okapi reported that around 30 civilians were kidnapped in an attack in the territory, while authorities said operations were under way in the area.

Earlier, on April 2, it was reported that an ADF assault on the Mambasa-Kisangani axis killed 70 people and destroyed dozens of homes, underlining the scale of the insecurity that joint operations are trying to contain.

Local citizen monitoring groups, say more than 250 people were abducted in ADF attacks in Mambasa in late March and early April. That means the latest reported release, if fully confirmed, would represent one of the biggest recent recoveries of civilians in the territory.