Allied Democratic Forces
Active	1996-Present
Leaders	Jamil Mukulu  (POW)
Allies	Al-Shabaab Lord's Resistance Army[1]
Opponents	Uganda  Democratic Republic of Congo

The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) is a rebel group opposed to the Ugandan government and is considered a terrorist organisation.^[2][3] It was originally based in western Uganda with rear bases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It began as a minor group in the forested Rwenzori Mountains along the border in 1996 before expanding its activities over the next several years.^{[citation needed]} 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.^[4]

Establishment[edit]

The ADF was formed by puritanical Muslim Ugandans of the Tablighi Jamaat group who merged with the remnants of another rebel group, the National Army for the Liberation of Uganda.^[5] The main figure of the group was Jamil Mukulu, a former Protestant who converted to Islam. The members were largely from central Uganda, in particular Iganga, Masaka, and Kampala, and portray themselves as religious crusaders. Beyond this vaguely stated religious ideology and statements that the government discriminates against Tablighis, the ADF has given few coherent rationales for their insurgency. The ADF chose western Uganda apparently for three reasons: terrain that is ideal for a rural insurgency, proximity to the DRC where the rebels could set up bases and recruit fighters, and the presence of some Ugandan ethnic groups unfriendly to the government that could offer assistance. It received support from the government of Sudan, which was engaged in disputes with the government of Uganda.^[2][6]

Activity[edit]

During civil war[edit]

While the ADF carried on occasional attacks in 1996, they were largely ignored by the government. This changed in 1997 when the rebels sharply increased the number of attacks. Most were aimed at soft targets, such as camps of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and small villages, though an ambush of UPDF soldiers in Kasese district raised eyebrows. The number of incidents increased in 1998, a fact that some people blame on the lack of UPDF alpine units to track and fight the rebels in the mountains. A number of bomb blasts in markets and restaurants in Kampala and elsewhere were blamed on the ADF. In the west, hundreds of civilians were murdered, large numbers of land mines were laid, and attacks were made on civilian, police, and UPDF locations. The number of IDPs rose to over 80,000. In February 1998, 30 students were abducted from a college in Kasese, while in June 80 college students were burned alive after they barricaded themselves in their dormitory to keep the ADF rebels out. The abduction of youth, as well as numerous acts of brutality, led many to compare it to the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) activities in the north of the country.

In 1999 the government gained the upper hand, forcing the ADF from their bases and into small bands that had to constantly move to escape UPDF forces. The government claims that their military presence, and the presence of Ugandan-backed proxy forces in the DRC, was vital in attacking these bases and cutting off supply lines. Despite this, the ADF gained a large number of weapons and some military training. The UPDF blamed the government of Sudan for supporting the ADF in retaliation for Ugandan support for the Sudan People's Liberation Army. Other government officials suggested that DRC President Laurent Kabila was arming the ADF through the Hutu ex-FAR/Interahamwe armed groups fighting in eastern Congo as part of his efforts to expel the foreign forces. The ADF was cooperating with the various Kabila-allied forces operating in the region.

While fighting continued into 2000 and there were sporadic attacks, the UPDF was largely successful in destroying the insurgency and securing the Ugandan conflict areas. A small ADF remnant remained in eastern Congo as of December 2004. In December 2005, UN and Congolese troops launched the Operation North Night Final, in order to destroy the rebel group and bring peace to the troubled Ituri district.

Insurgency[edit]

2007 to 2008[edit]

During March 2007, the UPDF engaged incursive ADF groups in multiple firefights, killing at least 46 in Bundibugyo and Mubende districts. The biggest battle occurred on March 27, when the UPDF faced an estimated 60 ADF troops and killed 34, including three senior commanders. The UPDF claimed to have retrieved numerous weapons as well as documents that tied the ADF to the LRA.^[7]

On 13 April 2007, the UPDF and ADF engaged in an intense battle inside the Semuliki National Park, near the upscale Semliki Lodge tourist destination.^[8]

Ceasefire and amnesty talks between the government of Uganda and the ADF were held in Nairobi starting in May 2008. Negotiations were complicated by the fragmentation of the ADF's leadership.^[9] Non-combatant dependents of the ADF were repatriated to Uganda by the IOM. At least 48 ADF fighters surrendered and were given amnesty.^[10] As the threat from the LRA in the DRC waned, the UPDF put increasing focus on the ADF as a reason for UPDF personnel to remain in the DRC.^[11]

2013 resurgence and current situation[edit]

In April 2013, it was reported that ADF started a recruitment campaign in Kampala and other parts of the country.^[12] Citing a defector from ADF, AllAfrica.com reported that approximately ten new recruits joined ADF forces every day.^[12]

In July 2013, the ADF renewed its fighting in the Congolese district of Beni. According to the UN Radio Okapi, the ADF together with the NALU fought a pitched battle with the FARDC, briefly taking the towns of Mamundioma and Totolito.^[13] On 11 July, the ADF attacked the town of Kamango, triggering the flight of over 60,000 refugees across the border into the Ugandan district of Bundibugyo.^[14]

Early in September 2013, regional leaders under the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) asked the recently formed combative United Nations Force Intervention Brigade under the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to attack positions of foreign negative forces operating in the DRC, including the ADF.^[15] In late September 2013, 3 people were killed and 30 abducted during an ADF attack in the Watalinga Sector, North Kivu, DRC.^[15] Omar Kavota, the vice president and spokesman of the local civil society in North Kivu, condemned the abductions. According to the civil society, the abductees also included eight minors.

In January 2014, the Military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) launched a major offensive against ADF forces in Beni. By April, Mukulu and other senior leaders of the group fled their headquarters camp from approaching FARDC forces. The remaining ADF fighters– alongside women and children – retreated into the forest, where their numbers were significantly reduced in the following months as a result of starvation, desertion, and continued FARDC attacks.^[4][16]

In late April 2015, the ADF's leader, Jamil Mukulu, was arrested in Tanzania.^[17] In July 2015, he was extradited to Uganda.^[18]

As of November 2015, despite Mukulu's arrest the number of attacks on Congolese forces continued unabated, with weekly attacks of varying size taking place and killing more than 400 people in 2015 alone, especially in the territories of Beni^[19] (Nord Kivu) and Irumu^[20] (Ituri).

Foreign involvement[edit]

The DRC government, citing civil society groups in North Kivu, claims that Al-Shabaab fighters from Somalia are collaborating with the ADF.^[21]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• "Uganda army says troops kill 38 rebel fighters", Reuters, Mar 28, 2007
• GlobalSecurity.org
• UGANDA: IRIN Special Report on the ADF rebellion IRIN, 8 December 1999
• IDP numbers by the Global IDP Database
• Opportunities and Constraints for the Disarmament and Repatriation of Foreign Armed Groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo (with link to report, PowerPoint and video of presentation by Hans Romkema and Steve Bradley) Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, September 2007, in particular p. 12