Headlines

A thorough look from 1995 up to the present

The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) was created in 1995 and initially operated in the mountainous border region between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda. According to the United Nations Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (“GoE”) 2013 final report, citing Ugandan officials and UN sources, in 2013 the ADF had an estimated strength of 1,200 to 1,500 armed fighters located in north-east Beni Territory of North Kivu province, close to the border with Uganda. These same sources estimate ADF’s total membership —including women and children— to be between 1,600 and 2,500. These numbers have considerably increased in recent years.

While the ADF’s ideology has historically contained some Salafi-jihadist elements, it has also recruited along secular ethnic lines and is deeply entrenched in the broader political and economic dynamics of the Rwenzori border region between Uganda and the DRC. In 2019, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for an ADF attack and first referenced a “Central Africa Province” under their control. These developments raise questions about the extent of the relationship between the ADF and the Islamic State. The ADF’s proven adaptability and resiliency likely signify a continued and potentially increasing threat to civilians, security forces, and UN peacekeepers.

The ADF has released increasing amounts of propaganda that reflects ideological alignment with the Islamic State. This includes an increased focus on efforts to kill Christian and other non-Muslim civilians. Additionally, the Islamic State’s propaganda apparatus has released multiple videos showing life inside ADF camps, including celebrations of Eid al-Adha. Within ADF camps, the organization enforces its own interpretation of sharia law and also runs an Islamic banking system into which members are obligated to deposit their money. 

The ADF has recruited and used child soldiers in violation of applicable international law.

In 2020, Musa Baluku claimed that the ADF had ceased to exist and was succeeded by the Islamic State's Central Africa Province. In April 2024, a joint operation between the armies of the DRC and Uganda enabled the neutralization of two ADF leaders, one of them nicknamed Doctor “Musa” and the other Commander “Baghdad”. However, they have continued their operations throughout 2024-2025, and according to the UN, the ADF is the armed group responsible for the highest number of killings in Congo, mainly civilians. Seventeen were reported dead in North Kivu province in the DRC by the end of July last year. Some of the victims were decapitated with machetes. Last February, the Pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need confirmed the brutal killing of 70 civilians who were taken hostage from a Catholic Church in a village in North Kivu by the Islamist ADF. According to reports, the Islamist group took the victims —who included women, children, and elderly people— hostage before ruthlessly beheading them, a similar practice used by Hamas in its attack on Israel. Other reports mentioned 11 civilians killed in mid-May and more than 80 civilians in June. 

The ADF is notorious for its violent tactics, which often include taking hostages and forcing them to travel with them either as reinforcements for their group or as forced labour for the war effort.

Furthermore, this terror group is broadening its recruitment base from its traditional pool of Congolese and Ugandan fighters to Kenya and Tanzania. Al-Shabaab fighters from Somalia are collaborating with the ADF, and Uganda has claimed that there is a link between them and with al-Qaeda.