In a major humanitarian breakthrough for conflict-ridden eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Ugandan and Congolese forces have rescued more than 200 civilians from a camp controlled by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an armed group with documented ties to the Islamic State. The operation, carried out jointly by the Ugandan People’s Defence Force (UPDF) and the Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo (FARDC), marks one of the largest hostage releases in the region in recent years.
Among those freed were children as young as 14 years old, many of whom showed signs of severe malnutrition, malaria, and psychological trauma after prolonged captivity. The rescue comes as part of Operation Shujaa, an ongoing joint military campaign that has targeted ADF strongholds in the Ituri and North Kivu provinces since 2021.
A Camp Built on Terror
The ADF, originally formed in Uganda during the 1990s by discontented Muslim groups, fled across the border into DR Congo following successive military defeats by the Ugandan army. Over the past two decades, the group has evolved from a domestic insurgency into a regional threat, with its leader Musa Seka Baluku formally pledging allegiance to IS in 2016. The Islamic State officially acknowledged the ADF as a provincial affiliate in April 2019, placing the group within its broader global network.
Held in what survivors describe as brutal conditions, captives were subjected to forced labour, food deprivation, and severe punishment for any attempt at resistance. Many of those rescued appeared frail and disoriented when they were finally freed. A statement from Ugandan military commanders quoted Maj Gen Stephen Mugerwa, the head of the joint mission, as telling the freed civilians: “You are not under detention. You are victims of abduction, and we shall ensure you are handed over to the relevant authorities so you can reunite with your families.”
The ADF Threat: Two Decades of Violence
While the ADF largely ceased direct operations inside Uganda after its initial routing, it has been responsible for some of the worst violence in eastern Congo, particularly targeting civilians through kidnappings, massacres, and forced displacements. According to a 2024 BBC Monitoring study, the ADF was responsible for more than half of all civilian deaths in the conflict-hit region during a six-month period of that year.
Amnesty International has documented how the group has operated with what the rights organization described as “alarming frequency,” with women and girls subjected to sexual violence and men, women, and children alike facing abductions that could last months or even years. The group has also increasingly targeted schools, carrying out deadly attacks in western Uganda in 2023.
The joint Uganda-Congo offensive, while dealing significant blows to the ADF over the past five years, has so far failed to eliminate the group entirely. The ADF continues to operate from remote bases in the dense forests of eastern Congo, launching periodic attacks on both military and civilian targets.
International Dimension and Ongoing Concerns
The rescue operation highlights both the progress being made and the persistent challenges in countering extremist-linked groups across the Great Lakes region. Regional cooperation between Uganda and DR Congo has proven critical, with intelligence sharing and coordinated ground operations enabling successes such as this one.
However, humanitarian workers warn that the freed civilians will need extensive support, including medical care, psychosocial assistance, and reunification with family members. The conditions in ADF captivity, characterized by deprivation and violence, leave lasting physical and psychological scars. Many of those released required immediate hospitalization upon reaching safety.
The operation also underscores the broader complexity of eastern Congo’s security landscape, where dozens of armed groups compete for territory and resources, and where the remnants of the ADF represent just one strand of a multi-layered crisis that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives over the past three decades.
For now, the focus remains on caring for those who have been freed and ensuring they can be safely returned to their communities — a task that, while far less dramatic than the rescue itself, may prove even more consequential in the weeks ahead.