Joint Ugandan-Congolese Operation Frees Over 200 Civilians from ADF-Controlled Camp in Eastern DR Congo

The rescued civilians described harsh conditions in captivity, including lack of food, forced labour, and punishment for disobedience, according to a Ugandan army statement. Several appeared frail and were suffering from malaria, breathing difficulties, and exhaustion, Ugandan authorities said.

Women and girls were being used as sexual slaves by the ADF, stated Rawya Rageh, an Amnesty International researcher. At the end of last year, a researcher for Amnesty International reported killings and abductions by the ADF happening with alarming frequency.

"Men, women and children told me how they ran for their lives as fighters armed with blades and guns descended on their villages.... Released hostages talked of agonising spells – sometimes months and years – spent in captivity, practically starved and forced to do various tasks in ADF camps," Rageh added.

Major General Stephen Mugerwa, who leads the joint Uganda-Congolese mission, told the freed civilians: "You are not under detention. " The operation was part of the sustained offensive that has improved security in parts of eastern DR Congo, enabling displaced communities to return home, schools to reopen, and cross-border trade between Uganda and the DR Congo to resume, the Ugandan People's Defense Forces said.

The Allied Democratic Forces was originally formed in Uganda in the 1990s. ADF rebels have been operating from inside DR Congo for the past two decades. In 2021, Uganda and DR Congo launched a joint offensive against the Allied Democratic Forces, with Operation Shujaa first launched in November 2021.

Ugandan soldiers have been targeting the Allied Democratic Forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 2021. Musa Seka Baluku, leader of the ADF, reportedly first pledged allegiance to IS in 2016. The ADF pledged allegiance to the Islamic State some decade ago and started more openly allying itself to the Islamic State as of 2016.

IS first acknowledged ADF activity in the area in April 2019. The Islamic State did not start formally claiming ADF attacks in its central media until 2019.

The ADF was blamed for suicide bombings in Uganda's capital, Kampala, in 2021. The ADF was blamed for targeting schools in western Uganda in 2023. A 2024 study by BBC Monitoring found that the ADF was responsible for more than half of the civilian deaths in eastern DR Congo. The ADF has become notorious for its kidnapping and killing in eastern DR Congo.