Allied Democratic Forces

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The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) is a rebel group opposed to the Ugandan government. It is based in western Uganda with rear bases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It began as a minor group in the forested Ruwenzori mountain range along the border in 1996, but expanded its activities over the next several years. As of 2004, the ADF had been largely destroyed by the Uganda Peoples Defense Force (UPDF).

The ADF was formed by puritanical Muslim Ugandans of the Tabliq sect who merged with the remnants of another rebel group, the National Army for the Liberation of Uganda. The main figure of the group was Jamil Mukulu, a former Catholic. 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 Tabliqs, 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.

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 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, 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 barrigaded 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 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 have been 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.

External links

• "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