Description: Conducting a joint operation, Congolese and Ugandan soldiers rescued more than two hundred hostages held in captivity by the Islamic State affiliate, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). The operation took several hours and was conducted near the Epulu river in northeastern DR Congo. Many of the captured civilians were found in a fragile state, tortured or forced into sexual slavery with respiratory and other forms of illness. ADF has been intensifying its operations in the conflict – laden parts of the DR Congo’s eastern provinces for more than 2 years. Uganda and the DRC concluded a security partnership in 2021 to force the ADF out of Congo, however, joint military efforts have so far produced limited results. ADF has been active in the cross – border region between Uganda and the DR Congo since the 1990s, while the group pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in 2016.
Impact: The large number of rescued civilians coupled with the fact that no humanitarian or government organization reported such a large kidnapping spree likely confirms that ADF has exponentially expanded its operational activities in eastern DRC. The terrorist group focuses on kidnappings, extortion and racketeering and even slavery in the eastern parts of the country where the DRC government wages war against the M23 rebel alliance for more than two decades. ADF likely exploited the security vacuum in the region to assert control over major infrastructure with sporadic presence across the region attacking government forces and targeting the civilian population. The group’s expansion of activities could potentially endanger the recently concluded pact between the M23 and the DRC government to explore prisoner exchanges and establish stable humanitarian aid corridors in the region. ADF is likely to target any humanitarian aid being delivered in the region, using it to leverage the civilian population for extortion and recruitment purposes. The security situation in the country remains severely unstable with a comprehensive peace agreement between the M23 and the DRC government still a distant prospect amid escalating terrorist activities by the ADF.