Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP) continues to be a formidable enemy in DRC where it has been conducting attack on farmers, Christians and the military indiscriminately with the attacks being on the rise in the first two months of the year.
In a recent ISIS-Central publication, the group revealed that while Nigeria remains the place with the highest casualties DRC had the 4th most operations which is a worrying trend. In the first two months of the year, the group in DRC has been working towards expanding both into Ituri Province and neighboring Uganda.
The group has been isolating Christians and farmers working on their fields, market places and villages to instill fear among the residents who still consider ISCAP’s founding group; ADF as a Ugandan guerilla militia without much reach. The group has been attacking military bases strategically to acquire weapons to supplement their crude weapons like knives and machetes that are readily available.
Intelligence further suggest that while they may not be as well funded as most ISIS affiliates, they more than compensate for in resolve and their guerilla roots work in their favor as it has helped drastically reduced the number of casualties in the attacks and CT operations by the Congolese troops. It is also evident that influence of Abnaa Ul Calipha the official affiliate in Somalia is observable since its appointment as an oversight entity for ISCAP both in Mozambique and DRC. The sophistication, increased strategy in the attacks is an indicator that the group has received reinforcements which makes the group’s growing threat to be more tangible than ever with a demographic catalog comprising of Kenyans, Tanzanians, Ugandans, Burundians, and Rwandans among other east and central African countries.
