ADF earns up to $1.6 million a year from gold in North Kivu
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Club of Mozambique
The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an Islamic State-linked armed group in eastern DR Congo, reportedly earns $1 million to $1.6 million a year from gold sites in North Kivu. Gold is channelled through Congolese trading centres to Ugandan refineries and export networks, according to a report by US organisation The Sentry.
The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an Islamic State-affiliated armed group in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, generates between $1 million and $1.6 million a year from gold sites in North Kivu, according to a report by the US organisation The Sentry, cited by Reuters. The group’s gold revenues enable it to fund more of its operations without relying on financial support from Islamic State.
Gold is transported from trading centres in eastern Congo to refineries and export networks in Uganda, The Sentry says. The ADF also earns revenue from cocoa production, extortion and kidnappings.
According to the organisation, the group has relied less on Islamic State funding since late 2024, after the United States sanctioned facilitators in its networks. Justyna Gudzowska, executive director of The Sentry, is calling on governments to target the financiers, gold traders and intermediaries supporting these networks.
Uganda has deployed thousands of soldiers in the DRC to fight the ADF alongside local forces, but the group remains embedded in local economic networks. It has operated mainly in the east of the country since 2000 and pledged allegiance to Islamic State in 2019, according to Reuters.
