Allied Democratic Forces

Allied Democratic Forces
Vikosi vya Muungano wa Kidemokrasia (Swahili)
Forces Démocratiques Alliées (French)
LeadersJamil Mukulu (POW) (leader until 2015)
Musa Baluku[1] (leader 2015–2019; commander of pro-ISIL faction from 2019)
"Muzaaya" (commander of Mukulu loyalists from 2019)[2]
Dusman Sabuni [3][4]
Dates of operation1996–2019 (unified group)
2019–present (factionalised)
HeadquartersMadina[5]
?–2020
IdeologyIslamic extremism[6][7]
Size500 (in 2018)[8]
Part ofIslamic State Islamic State's Central Africa Province (Baluku faction)
AlliesAPC (armed wing of RCD/K-ML)[9]
 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant[10]
Al-Shabaab (suspected)
Lord's Resistance Army[11]
 Sudan (suspected)[12]
Opponents Uganda
 Democratic Republic of Congo
 Angola
 Mozambique
 Rwanda
 Kenya
 Tanzania
Battles and warsAllied Democratic Forces insurgency, Kivu conflict
Designated as a terrorist group byUganda
United States
Preceded by
ADM
NALU
UMLA
Elements of Tablighi Jamaat movement

The Allied Democratic Forces (French: Forces démocratiques alliées; abbreviated ADF) is an Islamist[13] rebel group in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It considered a terrorist organisation by the Ugandan government and the United States.[14][15][16][17] It was originally based in western Uganda but has expanded into the neighbouring DRC. Most Ugandan ADF fighters are Muslims from the Baganda and Basoga ethnic groups.[18]

Since the late 1990s, the ADF has operated in the DRC's North Kivu province near the border with Uganda. While repeated military offensives against the ADF have severely affected it, the ADF has been able to regenerate because its recruitment and financial networks have remained intact.[19] Some of the attacks it has been blamed for also appear to have been committed by other rebel groups as well as the Congolese Armed Forces.

From 2015, the ADF experienced a radicalisation after the imprisonment of its leader Jamil Mukulu and the rise of Musa Baluku in his place. From 2019, the ADF had split, with one part remaining loyal to Mukulu, while the other had merged into the Islamic State's Central Africa Province under Baluku.[20]

  1. ^ "Inside the ADF Rebellion: A Glimpse into the Life and Operations of a Secretive Jihadi Armed Group" (PDF). Congo Research Group: Center on International Cooperation, New York University. November 2018. p. 8. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 December 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  2. ^ Candland et al. 2021, p. 24.
  3. ^ Allio, Emmy (1 October 1998). "Uganda: Amin's Son Leads ADF". allAfrica.com. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  4. ^ "Rebels are killing Tourism". Africa Intelligence. 20 November 1999. Archived from the original on 28 February 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  5. ^ "Rebels kill 30 soldiers in DR Congo". www.aa.com.tr. Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  6. ^ "Suspected Ugandan Islamist rebel attack in Congo kills at least five | The Japan Times". 24 December 2018. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018.
  7. ^ "DR Congo poll: Five things to know about the nation that powers mobile phones". BBC News. 29 December 2018. Archived from the original on 9 January 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  8. ^ "They Killed people Until They Got Tired". Vice News. Archived from the original on 3 February 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  9. ^ "THE BENI KILLINGS: OUR FINDINGS". Congo Research Group. 20 September 2017. Archived from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  10. ^ "The tentative ties between the Allied Democratic Forces and ISIS". thedefensepost.com. 6 December 2018. Archived from the original on 7 December 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  11. ^ "ADF-NALU's Lost Rebellion" (PDF). 19 December 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  12. ^ Kristof, Kristof (2012). "Rebels without borders in the Rwenzori borderland? A biography of the Allied Democratic Forces". Journal of Eastern African Studies. 6: 154–176. doi:10.1080/17531055.2012.664708. S2CID 144602662. Archived from the original on 24 November 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  13. ^ "Allied Democratic Forces". Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  14. ^ "Country Reports on Terrorism 2022: Democratic Republic of the Congo".
  15. ^ "Country Reports on Terrorism 2019: Democratic Republic of the Congo".
  16. ^ Jasmine Opperman. "Ugandas rising threat adf". Trackingterrorism.org. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  17. ^ John Pike. "Allied Democratic Forces". Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  18. ^ "Uganda: Baganda, Basoga Dominate ADF - Kavuma". allafrica.com. Kampala, Uganda. 4 January 2000. Retrieved 19 August 2024.(subscription required)
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference insights was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Candland et al. 2021, pp. 2, 17–18, 24–25.

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