EASTERN DRC — Amnesty International accused the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) of mass war crimes and crimes against humanity in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in a report that documents murder, abductions, forced labour and marriage, sexual abuse of women and girls, and the exploitation of children. The report, titled "I'd Never Seen So Many Bodies: War Crimes by the Allied Democratic Forces in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo," is based on interviews with 71 people in North Kivu province, including survivors of attacks, humanitarian workers and police officers.

"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," Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard said. "These abuses constitute war crimes which the world must not continue to ignore."

The ADF has waged a years-long military campaign against central authorities in Kinshasa and has been in conflict with the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the United Nations mission MONUSCO. The group operates largely in eastern DRC near the Ugandan border and pledged allegiance to ISIS/ISIL, also known as ISIS-Central Africa, in 2019. According to the report, the ADF has taken advantage of international and domestic focus on M23 attacks to intensify its operations in the east.

In September 2025, ADF fighters disguised themselves as mourners and used hammers, machetes, guns and axes to kill more than 60 people at a wake in Ntoyo village. In November 2025, an attack in Byambwe village killed at least 17 civilians and set four wards at a hospital ablaze. Repeated attacks have caused mass displacement and limited the population's access to healthcare, food and education.

Amnesty International spoke with five women and two girls who had been forced into marriages with ADF fighters, who received "wives" as an incentive to fight the government. Under threat of death, victims were forced to convert to Islam and suffered sexual and physical violence, and several women were forced to watch the killings of others who had refused the group's orders. The organization documented 46 cases of abduction involving hostages held for ransom, torture, sexual slavery, forced labour or murder, with some abductees forced to carry heavy loads for days while receiving beatings and little food. Witnesses said security forces sometimes arrived late or not at all at the scenes of attacks.

Amnesty International called on authorities in the DRC to do more to protect civilians and urged the government to work with the UN and local communities to improve early warning systems and respond quickly to attacks. The organization said peace and reintegration programmes are essential to help survivors and communities cope with trauma. "The international community must steadfastly support the Congolese state in improving efforts to protect civilians, ensuring justice, and providing long-term, sustainable support to victims and survivors," Callamard said.