Africa Defense Forum - Africa Defense Forum

ADF STAFF After losing tens of thousands of its mercenaries fighting in Ukraine, the Wagner Group has begun to scale back its operations there so it can expand its footprint in Africa, according to Bloomberg. The shift is happening as…

ADF STAFF Maritime leaders from 31 of Africa’s 38 coastal countries gathered in Cabo Verde in late March to discuss collaborative strategies to tackle sea crime during the first-ever African Maritime Forces Summit.  Expected to…

ADF STAFF Days after the collapse of a cease-fire negotiated by Angolan President João Lourenço between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the M23 rebels, Angola took a more hands-on approach. On March 11, Lourenço announced a…

ADF STAFF Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in Kenya has declined significantly since the country established a Coast Guard in 2018. That is according to Timothy Wamalwa, an operator in the Kenyan Coast Guard, who…

ADF STAFF Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway was billed as a major economic driver that would benefit the region. However, six years after it opened, the railway has become a financial burden for the country and a key part of its deteriorating…

ADF STAFF A new United Nations report shows that the number of people killed in Mali continued to increase in 2022, despite pledges by the government to stamp out extremist violence. On March 22, the U.N. mission in Mali, MINUSMA,…

ADF STAFF In recent months, a new beer began appearing in bars around Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic — a beer that analysts say carries implications for countries where Russia’s Wagner Group mercenaries operate.…

ADF STAFF The Tanzania Navy recently deployed a vessel in the Mozambique Channel to help the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and international partners address an array of sea crimes, including illegal fishing, drug…

ADF STAFF People walk freely between Ghana and Burkina Faso where the towns of Paga and Dakola are joined. Aside from the rickety metal barriers and gate that cut across the main road, there is little indication of where one country ends…

ADF STAFF Porous borders and weak enforcement have turned certain regions into highways for international drug trafficking, which in turn fuels insurgencies and conflicts. West Africa in particular has become the transit hub for drugs…