Kinshasa, DRC

An Amnesty International report published on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, accuses ADF rebels of war crimes and crimes against humanity in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where this armed group—which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State—has been carrying out increasing numbers of looting, hostage-taking, and killings.

Eastern DRC has been plagued by violence for over 30 years, and a multitude of militias and armed groups are present in the region. The ADF (Allied Democratic Forces), formed by former Ugandan rebels and active in the provinces of North Kivu (east) and Ituri (northeast), are known for their extreme violence against civilians.

The Amnesty report, based on interviews with 71 people between October 2025 and February 2026, documents attacks against civilians, “abductions and forced labor, the recruitment and use of children, as well as violence and crimes targeting women and girls, such as forced marriages” and “forced pregnancies.”

“These attacks constitute war crimes and, to the extent that they were carried out as part of a systematic and widespread offensive against a civilian population, crimes against humanity,” Amnesty International states.

According to the NGO, the ADF “deliberately attacks” civilians “not only to obtain food, medicine, and other supplies, but also as retaliation for military operations.”

The group is “increasingly resorting to kidnappings for ransom,” it adds.

Those abducted are “subjected to physical violence, including beatings, forced labor, sexual slavery, and sometimes unlawful killings,” the NGO details. Some have also “been forced to participate in attacks.”

Women and girls abducted by the ADF are often forcibly converted to Islam and given as “wives” to fighters to encourage recruitment, a practice that is “systematic in the group’s camps,” according to Amnesty.

Seven former hostages abducted in 2025 told Amnesty “that their families had paid ransoms ranging from $100 to $10,000” to secure their release.

The ADF is also among the main armed groups responsible for recruiting and using children in the DRC, according to the UN.

“The group exploits children for various purposes, including forcing them to take part in combat, carry loads, cook, and stand guard,” the report states.

The Ugandan army (UPDF) has been deployed since 2021 in the northern part of North Kivu and in Ituri to fight the ADF alongside the Congolese army, but the joint operation, dubbed “Shujaa,” has not put an end to the violence.

The armed group employs “asymmetric tactics, hides in a vast, dense rainforest, relies on a vast network” of informants, and “has acquired advanced technological capabilities” to evade the military, Amnesty adds.

Humaniterre with AFP