Intelligence reports out of Mozambique have revealed that the Islamic rebel group based in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda known as Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). ADF which has been headquartered in Uganda and DRC appeared to have shifted its agenda to a align with global jihadists groups like ISIS and al Qaeda.
HUMINT has revealed that ADF is shifting its base of operation from the central African region to the volatile northern region of Mozambique that has been the tuff of an Islamist group identified as Al-Sunnah wa Jama’ah locally known as al Shabaab. The group has Madinat Tawhid-wa-I-Muwahidin (MTM) is led by a Ugandan associated with ADF and has been receiving fighters from ADF arms in Uganda and DRC.
ADF’s Resurgence in Uganda
The ADF is a militia created by Muslim rebels to oppose Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni which also operates in the DRC. In October 2017, a video was circulated on ISIS-affiliated media that showed a call to the youths to join jihad in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Central Africa believed to have been shot in Beni area in North Kivu Province in the eastern part of the country. The video is believed to have been the first step in the establishment of the Islamic State in Central Africa.
Recent claims are in line with Ugandan government which has reported a possible resurgence of ADF that had been seemingly obliterable and now has active cells across Uganda including the capital Kampala. It is believed that ADF has been sending fighters to train in the volatile province of Cabo Delgado in Mozambique after which they are dispatched to head terror cells and conduct attacks in Uganda. Police and other security agencies have also blamed the group for a string of killings of high-profile government officials and clerics.
ADF and Mozambique Jihadis
Six people suspected to be linked to the group were arrested by Mozambican security personnel after a raid on their terrorist camp in Cabo Delgado District. One of the suspects was identified as Abdul Rahman Faisal, a name which appeared among those of the top leaders of Usafi Mosque near Mengo Hill Road in Kampala, Uganda. In April 2018, police in Uganda police raided Faisal’s mosque killing two suspected leaders of the al Shabaab group in Uganda.
However, the recent reports indicate a possible allegiance shift from ISIS to the Osama bin Laden-founded Al-Qaeda and a likely merge with groups in Mozambique’s volatile north. ADF which has shown resilience is seeking to resurge and reinvent itself as a formidable ally to Somalia’s al Shabaab that has been unable to expand to Uganda. Al Shabaab in Somalia attempted to create a regional network of cells but was overpowered by Kenya’s robust counterterrorism measures.
The threat posed by a move by ADF to Mozambique is the access to resources, training ground and an ample number of recruits to join the cause taking into account the remoteness of the locations chosen. Also, Cabo Delgado is oil-rich and as such in the event the militants take control of the oil rigs, the region could have on their hands a Boko Haram-style terror organization.
