2024

ADF STAFF Since deploying in 2021, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) has helped reduce the presence of Islamic State-affiliated terrorists in the Cabo Delgado province from several thousand to…

ADF STAFF Millions of metric tons of illegally harvested timber smuggled from Mozambique to China are helping to fund one of Africa’s deadliest insurgencies, according to a newly published report. China’s illicit trade in rosewood,…

ADF STAFF Policing maritime crime in Africa’s coastal waters requires more than simply intercepting suspect ships or arresting possible drug traffickers. It also requires careful attention to collecting evidence that can be used later to…

ADF STAFF South Africa has launched its latest venture exploring the potential for artificial intelligence (AI), this time in the defense sphere. The Defence Artificial Intelligence Research Unit (DAIRU) opened in early May at the South…

ADF STAFF Diplomats from Mali and Mauritania have been working hard to avert a border crisis between the neighboring West African countries. In April, Mauritania accused the Malian military (FAMa) and its Russian mercenary partners of…

ADF STAFF Tuareg rebels in northern Mali recently announced the formation of a new coalition to fight the junta-led government for control of the territory known as Azawad. The new alliance, known as the Permanent Strategic Framework for…

ADF STAFF The Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2023 recorded the largest increase in military spending globally as local and international forces worked to secure the country’s conflict-ridden eastern areas. South Sudan reported the…

ADF STAFF Joint security forces in northern Mozambique continued their seek-and-destroy operations against Islamic State-Mozambique (ISM) after the terror group launched another foray into the Nampula Province in April. “Insurgents…

ADF STAFF Senegalese authorities in mid-April seized more than a metric ton of cocaine concealed in packets and stashed in bags in a truck near the Mali border. Valued at $146 million, it was the country’s largest inland seizure of…

ADF STAFF The Topaz, a Seychelles Coast Guard vessel, abruptly altered its direction in January when it was alerted to a Somali pirate attack on a Sri Lankan fishing trawler just outside the Seychelles exclusive economic zone. The…