Africa Defense Forum - Africa Defense Forum

ADF STAFF South Africa drew international criticism for its recent military exercises with China and Russia, but there was no shortage of critics at home who argued that the drills were too costly and used funds needed elsewhere. The…

ADF STAFF The recent outbreak of coups in West Africa has cast a spotlight on some shortcomings in transitioning back to democracy. Since 2020, military juntas have swept to power in Mali (2021, 2022), Burkina Faso (twice in 2022) and…

ADF STAFF United States Coast Guard (USCG) Ensign Mohammad Diakite and members of the Togolese Navy rushed toward a man down on the deck of the USCG Cutter Spencer in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. They were participating in a medical…

ADF STAFF Moustapha was running out of hope. The Nigerien man had a family to feed but little means to do so. Like scores of people around the continent, he was persuaded to join and fight for a violent extremist organization.…

ADF STAFF In its ongoing attempt to expand across the Sahel, Russia’s Wagner Group may choose Chad as its next target. Unlike other Sahelian countries, which have invited Wagner mercenaries, Chad could be Wagner’s first attempt at…

U.S. Africa Command Staff A cross the globe, militaries are transforming. They’re updating tactics and strategies to respond to asymmetric threats. They’re opening new professional military education institutions to meet the demands of…

Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairperson of the African Union Commission, spoke at the 16th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union on Terrorism and Unconstitutional Changes of Government in Africa in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, …

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE In Côte d’Ivoire, a new “Superphone” that uses a voice assistant to respond to commands in a local language is opening up opportunities to reach a broader range of consumers. Developed and assembled locally, the…

ADF STAFF Senegalese artist Fally Sene Sow took inspiration from the depressing days of the COVID-19 pandemic to build a vision of what his neighborhood might someday resemble in Dakar. He built an array of model buildings in a room,…

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Hanganani Gideon Dube, 75, has walked with a slight limp and his speech has been labored since he miraculously survived being trampled by an elephant in northwestern Zimbabwe. He considers himself lucky to be…