Gold-Backed Brutality: The ISIL-Affiliated Allied Democratic Forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Publisher: The Sentry
Date: 2026
Topics: Extractive Resources
Countries: Congo (DRC)
Despite military setbacks and the disruption of funding streams linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has evolved into a self-reliant, resilient militant group sustained by conflict gold, new recruits, and entrenched local support networks. The ADF, also known as the Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP) and designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States (US) in 2021, has operated in eastern DRC since the mid-1990s and remains one of the region’s most lethal armed groups today., Beyond its ability to finance itself, the group has capitalized on the effects of a Ugandan-Congolese military operation that, despite having counter-ADF objectives, has increasingly been undermined by broader Ugandan strategic and economic interests in eastern DRC that have allowed the ADF to reorganize. The group’s financial and military resilience ensures that the Congolese people continue to pay the price. The ADF was the second deadliest non-state armed group for civilians globally in 2025 and has been the largest perpetrator of killings in eastern DRC in recent years. The group’s attacks have included mass killings at churches and funerals, and survivors have described militants burning homes, mutilating bodies, and using systematic rape.