UgandaKey figures
Who is fighting
DRC and Uganda
- Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC)
- Uganda People's Defence Force (Operation Shujaa)
- MONUSCO Force Intervention Brigade
- Local self-defence groups
- United States (intelligence support, reported)
Allied Democratic Forces / Islamic State Central Africa Province
- ADF (Musa Baluku faction)
- Islamic State Central Africa Province
- Islamic State (funding and propaganda)
Force sizes are estimates of personnel or fighters, usually from IISS, government statements or specialist reporting; irregular forces are especially hard to count. "(reported)" marks external support that the backer disputes or has not confirmed.
Background
The ADF was formed in 1996 by Ugandan Islamists and remnants of other rebel groups and was driven into the Rwenzori mountains of eastern Congo. From 2014 it carried out massacres around Beni; in 2019 the Islamic State began claiming its attacks as 'Central Africa Province' (ISCAP). The group finances itself through gold, timber and kidnapping and recruits across East Africa.
After bombings in Kampala in November 2021, Uganda deployed troops into the DRC alongside the FARDC (Operation Shujaa). The campaign dispersed ADF camps but pushed the group into new areas; massacres continued in Beni, Lubero, Irumu and Mambasa territories. In June 2023 ADF fighters killed 42 people, mostly students, at a school in Mpondwe, Uganda. In July 2025 dozens were killed in an attack on a church in Komanda, Ituri, and in August 2025 the UN reported at least 52 killed in North Kivu.
In 2026 the FARDC's attention is consumed by the M23 war, and the ADF has exploited the gap: more than 260 civilians were reported killed in March-early May, including 43 at Bafwakoa on 1 April and 70 in a single day on 28 April; on 30 April the group attacked Suka na Mboka in Haut-Uele; and in May ACLED recorded its deadliest anti-civilian campaign in Ituri since 2022 while Ebola spread in Irumu and Djugu. Attacks on villages in Ituri continued into September and October 2026.
Recent developments
- 29 September 2026Nine people abducted from Bandisende village, Ituri, are killed; at least five more killed across the province in the following days. source ↗
- 1 June 2026Civil protection reports 19 civilians murdered in Beni territory and warns of worsening insecurity in Mambasa. source ↗
- 31 May 2026ACLED: at least 149 civilians killed by the ADF in Ituri during May, the deadliest month since May 2022, as an Ebola outbreak spreads in Irumu and Djugu. source ↗
- 7 May 2026ADF kills at least 36 people in two days, including 15 in Biakato and 21 in four villages on the Ituri-North Kivu border. source ↗
- 30 April 2026ADF fighters clash with the army and displace civilians at Suka na Mboka, Haut-Uele. source ↗
Timeline
- 13 November 1996ADF launches its first attacks from the DRC into western Uganda.
- 15 October 2014Start of the Beni massacres; hundreds of civilians killed over the following years.
- 18 April 2019Islamic State claims its first attack in the DRC; the ADF becomes ISCAP.
- 30 November 2021Uganda and the DRC launch Operation Shujaa after bombings in Kampala.
- 16 June 2023ADF attack on a school in Mpondwe, Uganda, kills 42, mostly students.
- 5 February 2025Civil society reports 100 civilians killed by the ADF in Irumu in four days; Uganda sends 1,000 more troops.
- 27 July 2025Dozens killed in an ADF attack on a Catholic church in Komanda, Ituri.
- 18 August 2025UN reports at least 52 people killed by IS-backed rebels in North Kivu.
- 28 April 2026ADF kills about 70 civilians in a single day in Ituri after 43 were killed at Bafwakoa on 1 April.
- 30 April 2026ADF attacks Suka na Mboka in Haut-Uele, its first violence that far north in 15 years.
- 15 May 2026Ebola outbreak confirmed in Ituri as ACLED records the ADF's deadliest month against civilians there since 2022 (149+ killed).
- 29 September 2026Nine captured Christians killed near Bandisende, Ituri; further killings in early October.
Casualties and displacement in detail
| Measure | Low | High | What the figure covers · source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total killed (cumulative) | 8,000 | – | Approximate total killed since 1996 including civilians, soldiers and rebels (Wikipedia compilation); Kivu Security Tracker and UN counts of civilians killed by the ADF since 2014 run into the thousands. No precise cumulative figure exists. en.wikipedia.org ↗ |
| Combatants killed | – | – | Not published; UN has lost 17+ peacekeepers to the ADF. en.wikipedia.org ↗ |
| Civilians killed | 298 | – | ACLED: ~149 civilians killed by the ADF in Ituri in January-April 2026 and at least 149 more in May 2026; North Kivu deaths and later months not included. A UCDP count attributed ~3,800 civilian deaths to the Islamic State in 2024, most of them in the DRC. acleddata.com ↗ |
| Wounded | – | – | Not systematically recorded. acleddata.com ↗ |
| Deaths in the last 12 months | 298 | – | ACLED-recorded ADF civilian fatalities in Ituri, January-May 2026 only; full-year totals for Ituri, North Kivu and Haut-Uele are not published in any source retrieved. acleddata.com ↗ |
| Internally displaced | 150,000 | – | 150,000+ displaced by ADF violence (undated compilation); Ituri and North Kivu together host well over 2 million IDPs from all conflicts. en.wikipedia.org ↗ |
| Refugees abroad | – | – | Not separately recorded. data.unhcr.org ↗ |
Intensity classification: ACLED recorded at least 149 civilians killed by the ADF in Ituri in May 2026 alone, equal to the January-April 2026 total (so ~300 in Ituri in five months), plus repeated mass killings in North Kivu (e.g. 52 killed in August 2025, 19 in Beni on 1 June 2026). No 12-month total was retrieved, but the incident record indicates well over 1,000 deaths a year, consistent with UCDP's finding that IS-affiliated violence in the DRC made the Islamic State the deadliest one-sided actor of 2024..
Countries affected
Frequently asked questions
Who is fighting in the ADF / Islamic State Central Africa Province insurgency (DR Congo and Uganda)?
DRC and Uganda (Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC), Uganda People's Defence Force (Operation Shujaa), MONUSCO Force Intervention Brigade, Local self-defence groups), supported by United States (intelligence support, reported); against Allied Democratic Forces / Islamic State Central Africa Province (ADF (Musa Baluku faction), Islamic State Central Africa Province), supported by Islamic State (funding and propaganda).
How many people have been killed?
Estimates range from 8,000+ killed as of 5 October 2026. Approximate total killed since 1996 including civilians, soldiers and rebels (Wikipedia compilation); Kivu Security Tracker and UN counts of civilians killed by the ADF since 2014 run into the thousands. No precise cumulative figure exists. Civilian deaths are put at 298+. Figures come from the sources listed on this page and differ in method; see the caveats above.
Is the ADF / Islamic State Central Africa Province insurgency (DR Congo and Uganda) still ongoing in 2026?
Status as of 19 October 2026: Active fighting — The Allied Democratic Forces, a Ugandan-origin rebel group that pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in 2019, carries out some of Africa's deadliest attacks on civilians in North Kivu and Ituri despite a joint Congolese-Ugandan offensive ('Operation Shujaa') launched in 2021. In 2026 the group expanded north into Haut-Uele for the first time in 15 years and waged its deadliest campaign in Ituri since 2022, coinciding with an Ebola outbreak there.
When did it start?
The current phase began on 30 November 2021, but the underlying conflict dates back to 1996 — 4 years, 10 months ago.
Sources
- ACLED — Africa Overview June 2026 (ADF and Ebola in Ituri) acleddata.com
- ACLED — Africa Overview May 2026 (ADF in Haut-Uele) acleddata.com
- Wikipedia — Allied Democratic Forces insurgency en.wikipedia.org
- Africanews — ADF kills at least 36 (May 2026) africanews.com
- UCDP — Organized violence 1989–2024 journals.sagepub.com
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