The ADF has early roots as an opposition group to the Ugandan government but later positioned itself as an Islamist militia with pledges to the Islamic State and merger with other militias operating in Nord-Kivu and Ituri provinces. Of the groups operating in eastern DRC, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo (CODECO) remained two of the most active. Specifically, Nord-Kivu province accounted for the highest number of political violence events and grew by 7% from last year. Political violence events remained concentrated in the eastern region in 2022, driven by political rivalries, land disputes, mineral interests, and foreign intervention. Indeed, escalating tensions between the DRC and Rwanda, and potential voting disruptions to national elections in December 2023 could lead to worsening violence, especially in the eastern provinces. Amidst the growth of activity by the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group and the outbreak of new conflicts in 2022, the coming year offers minimal hope for wide-scale conflict resolution. While many of these conflicts have been active for years, the sudden onset of inter-communal clashes in Mai-Ndombe province and surrounding areas over land taxation was a potent reminder of the volatility of conflict dynamics in the DRC. The presence of over a hundred armed groups engaging in multiple conflicts over territorial and resource control continued to create instability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 2022.
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