Jihadis in Congo? Probably not. Kristof Titeca Published as: Titeca, Kristof ‘Jihadis in Congo? Probably not.’, The Monkey Cage, The Washington Post, 27 September 2016 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/09/27/heres-why-its-a-problem-that- congos-u-n-peacekeeping-force-is-blaming-international-jihadis-for-these-killings-and- attacks/?utm_campaign=buffer&utm_content=buffer4c2af&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.c om&utm_term=.d6ed890fb38a Between October and December 2014, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) endured a series of massacres that killed more than 250 people in DRC's northeastern Beni region. The DRC government and the UN stabilization mission in there, known as MONUSCO (for the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DR Congo), quickly identified a Ugandan rebel group called the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) as the sole culprits. Others, including the nonprofit Congo Research Group, found strong indications that others were involved. Who are the ADF? DRC’s neighbor Uganda would like you to believe that the ADF has been infiltrated by international jihadi extremists. For instance, Lt. Colonel Paddy Ankunda, spokesperson for the Uganda People's Defense Forces (UPDF) said, "There is no doubt; ADF has a linkage with Al-Shabab. They collaborate. They have trained ADF on the use of improvised explosive devices." However, little is known about the secretive ADF, a Ugandan-led rebel movement which established well-organized camps in northeastern Congo since the early 2000s. While in-depth research explores the group’s early years in Uganda, there has been little to no in-depth academic analysis on its activities since the ADF resurfaced in the Congo in 2010. Research on the ADF is particularly difficult, given that the highly secretive movement has retreated into eastern Congo’s forests. Founded in 1995, the ADF claimed its goal was to overthrow the Ugandan government and create an Islamic state. But over the past decade, its actions have shown a clear commitment to this goal, except as a narrative to maintain cohesion among ADF members. By the late 2000s, the ADF’s leaders had ceased making public proclamations, started avoiding media, and harshly punished members caught trying to escape. By tightly controlling movement within and between its forest camps, and allowing very few members to travel “outside” to such places as the town of Beni, the ADF leadership minimized any interactions that might reveal the group’s objectives and activities. This mysterious mode of operation worked to the rebels’ advantage. Existing largely under the radar allowed the group to survive, despite repeated attacks by the Congolese army.