Major Kiconco Tabaro, a regional spokesperson for the Uganda People’s Defence Forces, stated that the officers arrived through the Ishasha border crossing in Kanungu district in southwestern Uganda.
He also said that the 98 officers, who arrived with 43 guns and ammunition, were disarmed upon arrival.
He explained that they were escaping intense violence involving M23 rebels, other militias, and the Congolese military, exacerbated by widespread hunger.
In the past four days, at least 2,500 more Congolese refugees have crossed into Uganda to escape the escalating violence.
Among these refugees are pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and young children.
The primary reason for this influx is the increasing violence and insecurity in Congo, Tabaro added.
Since 2022, the M23 has been conducting a new insurgency in Congo’s militia-ridden eastern region.
According to a United Nations report reviewed by Reuters last month, the Ugandan army has been accused of supporting the Tutsi-led rebel group, a claim Uganda refutes.
The U.N. has consistently accused Rwanda, Uganda’s neighbor, of backing the M23. The rebel group has frequently taken control of significant areas in the mineral-rich eastern Congo, but Rwanda has denied these allegations.
Congo’s military has increased its efforts to counter the M23 rebels over the past year, employing drones and aircraft, but the rebels have continued to expand their territory.
In June, the M23 took control of Kanyabayonga, a strategically important town in North Kivu due to its elevated position and role as a gateway to other regions.
The fighting in North Kivu has displaced over 1.7 million people, raising the total number of Congolese displaced by various conflicts to a record 7.2 million, according to U.N. estimates.