Congo Army Seeks Insights From Women Captive Among Islamist Militants

Eko Hot Blog reports that in an eastern Democratic Republic of Congo military intelligence center, 22-year-old Mariam shared her two-year experience living alongside Islamist insurgents after being forcibly taken to their rainforest camp.

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Mariam mentioned that she was claimed as a wife by a Ugandan insurgent, one of several non-Congolese militants she encountered while with the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).

This armed group, according to U.N. experts, has expanded its deadly operations with funding from the Islamic State.

Originating as an uprising in Uganda, some ADF members crossed the border into the vast jungles of eastern Congo in the 1990s. Since then, they’ve pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and continued their insurgency, targeting civilians and military entities in both Congo and Uganda.

In December 2021, both countries initiated a joint military operation, with Uganda deploying over 1,500 troops into Congo to combat the militants.

Reuters was granted rare access to a detention center in Beni to interview women who had recently lived in ADF rebel camps.

Congo army spokesperson Antony Mwalushay explained that women who spent extended periods in the camps often possess valuable insights into the group’s operations, aiding counter-insurgency efforts. “They sometimes tell secrets that the army didn’t know,” he stated during an interview on September 13 at the Beni base, an area where the ADF is highly active.

“When this information refers to a place where an ADF leader is located, operations are carried out there, and we find the attackers’ camp precisely,” he added.

Mwalushay reported that the army had questioned around 425 women so far this year, all of whom had been freed or had escaped from rebels since January, including Mariam.

In conversations with Reuters, Mariam revealed how she was coerced into relocating to the rebel camp. Other testimonies provided insights into the rebels’ way of life, including a 22-year-old woman who ended up in an ADF camp when her husband joined.

She noted the strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law and the differences in their treatment of women compared to the norm in the area.

“All the Muslim law there is very different from what we experience here. For example, there the women cover their entire face, you cannot see or even recognize them,” she shared at the base.

“At the ADF if you speak to a husband who is not yours, they whip you.”
Source: Routers

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