Allied Democratic Forces

The Allied Democratic Forces (French: Forces démocratiques alliées; abbreviated ADF) is a Ugandan Islamist rebel group formerly based in western Uganda and currently operating in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Some refer to the group as IS-DRC as a chapter of IS-CAP, but this term is broader and tends to include non-ADF rebels. It is considered a terrorist organization by the Ugandan government and the United States. The group is sanctioned by the United States and the United Nations Security Council. Originally based in western Uganda, the ADF has expanded into eastern DRC where nearly all of its fighting has occurred. Most ADF fighters are Ugandan Muslims from the Baganda and Basoga ethnic groups. The ADF was the second-deadliest non-state actor against civilians in 2025. Since the late 1990s, the ADF has operated in the Congo'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. Some of the attacks it has been blamed for also appear to have been committed by other rebel groups as well as the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC). The ADF's leadership shifted after the imprisonment of its leader Jamil Mukulu on April 30, 2015. Musa Seka Baluku, Mukulu's second-in-command since 1995, stepped forward in his place shortly after. Under Baluku's leadership, the group began connecting with IS as early as 2017, were formally recognized as a chapter of IS-CAP in 2018, and formally pledged their allegiance to the group in 2019. By 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. The anti-IS splinter group was largely destroyed in...