Twenty-Nine Hostages Rescued From ADF Captivity in Congo
Twenty-nine civilians held by the Allied Democratic Forces were freed following joint Congolese and Ugandan military operations in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to reports published November 5.
Congolese news outlet Actualite.cd placed the operations along the Nduye-Dingbo road in Ituri province and said the releases occurred in late October. The report did not specify an exact rescue date.
International Christian Concern also reported the release of 29 hostages and said Christians were among those rescued. The religious identities of all those freed, and the motives behind each abduction, were not established.
Survivors described being seized while working in fields and taken into forest areas around Biakato, Alimbako and neighboring locations. According to their accounts, captors tied them up, took their possessions and forced them to move between camps.
One survivor from Biakato told Actualite.cd that abductors interrupted a cassava harvest and took the group’s motorcycles. Former captives described sleeping on the ground, receiving inadequate food and facing repeated threats during periods of detention lasting nearly a month.
Some survivors reported that other captives did not survive mistreatment, illness or exhaustion. Those accounts did not establish an overall death toll or how many people remained captive following the operations.
A military official cited in the reporting said the freed civilians would receive assistance to return to their communities. Authorities described arrangements for family reunification while acknowledging the physical and psychological effects of detention.
The operations involved the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces. Officials urged closer cooperation among residents, civilian authorities, community leaders and security forces in areas where armed groups remain active.
International Christian Concern reported continuing fear among local Christian communities despite the releases. Actualite.cd said information from former hostages could help guide further operations, while assistance and safe returns remained immediate priorities for those freed.
References
Actualite.cd — Published November 5, 2026
actualite.cd/2026/11/05/ituri-adf-29-otages-liberes-apres-des-operations-conjointes-fardc-updf-sur-laxe-nduye
International Christian Concern — Published November 5, 2026
persecution/2026/11/05/29-hostages-rescued-from-adf-extremists/
