Amnesty International’s new report accuses the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) of mass war crimes in eastern DRC, documenting killings, abductions, forced marriages, sexual violence and child exploitation. The group, which pledged allegiance to ISIS in 2019, has intensified operations in North Kivu amid regional instability. Amnesty interviewed 71 people and recorded attacks that killed dozens, including a wake massacre in Ntoyo and a hospital assault in Byambwe. The report urges stronger Congolese and international action to protect civilians and support survivors.
Amnesty Exposes Mass War Crimes by ADF in Eastern DRC — Dozens Killed, Women Abducted and Forced Into Marriage
DRC soldiers search for ADF rebels near Beni in North-Kivu province [Kenny Katombe/Reuters]
Amnesty International has published a stark new report accusing the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) of widespread war crimes and crimes against humanity across eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The report, titled “I’d Never Seen So Many Bodies: War Crimes by the Allied Democratic Forces in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo”, documents multiple incidents of murder, abduction, forced labour and marriage, sexual violence against women and girls, and the exploitation of children.
Key Findings
- Amnesty interviewed 71 people in North Kivu — including survivors, humanitarian workers and police officers — to document abuses by ADF fighters.
- The report records at least 46 abduction cases, including hostages held for ransom, victims of sexual slavery, forced labour and torture.
- Notable attacks include a September 2025 assault on a wake in Ntoyo that allegedly killed more than 60 people, and a November 2025 strike on Byambwe village that left at least 17 civilians dead and hospital wards burned.
The ADF — which pledged allegiance to ISIS/ISIL in 2019 and is sometimes referred to as ISIS–Central Africa — operates primarily in eastern DRC near the Ugandan border. For years it has clashed with the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC) and the UN peacekeeping mission MONUSCO.
“Civilians in the eastern DRC have suffered extensive brutality at the hands of ADF fighters. They have been killed, abducted and tortured in a dehumanising campaign of abuse,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s secretary general.
Harrowing Testimonies
Amnesty’s interviews include survivors who described combat-style killings using hammers, machetes, guns and axes; women and girls forced into marriage and coerced to convert under threat of death; and children pressed into combat or exploited for labour. One woman who escaped after two years in captivity told Amnesty: “They taught us how to kill with weapons and with blades… In the bush, you had to do what you were told. You cannot be weak.”
The report details how ADF fighters have at times posed as mourners to enter villages, attacked medical facilities and targeted civilians in places of refuge, aggravating displacement and eroding access to healthcare, education and food across affected areas.
Recommendations
Amnesty urges the Congolese government to strengthen civilian protection measures, improve early-warning systems in coordination with communities and the UN, and ensure timely security responses to attacks. The rights group also calls for robust peace, reintegration and psychosocial support programmes for survivors.
Amnesty warns that ignoring the ADF threat risks further deterioration of security and human rights in eastern DRC and urges sustained international support for justice, protection and long-term assistance to victims and communities.
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