2024

ADF STAFF Ethiopian businessman Tola Tesfaye was returning to Addis Ababa when armed men stopped his vehicle and kidnapped him for a ransom of 1.3 million birr ($23,000). Tesfaye’s experience is becoming routine across central Ethiopia’s…

ADF STAFF Hamza, a 26-year-old Moroccan, once had a steady job and fiancee. He occasionally used recreational drugs at parties with friends, but he was not an addict. Then he was encouraged to try pufa, also known as “cocaine for the…

ADF STAFF After losing ground for months, the Sudanese Armed Forces have launched new offensives against the opposition paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, reclaiming some territory in Omdurman, among other places. It is unclear how…

ADF STAFF Mozambique’s armed forces (FADM) are taking a more prominent role in counterterrorism operations, as troops from the Southern African Development Community Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) have begun to draw down. The insurgency in…

ADF STAFF Some have called it West Africa’s “Brexit.” Others referred to Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger as “the three rebels” after their decision to leave the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Whatever it’s called, the…

ADF STAFF Russia’s extensive courtship of Burkina Faso in recent months has included 25,000 metric tons of free wheat, an agreement to build a nuclear power plant, a personal security detail for junta leader Capt. Ibrahim Traoré and now…

ADF STAFF The use of drones by Burkina Faso’s military is drawing criticism and calls for restraint amid reports of heavy civilian casualties. Burkinabe military drone strikes killed more than 60 civilians and injured scores more over a…

ADF STAFF The images of a wrecked unmanned aerial vehicle that Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) posted to its social media channels in late January confirmed what many observers have suspected: Iran is supplying weaponized drones to the…

ADF STAFF Eleven West African countries are designated as future fisheries conflict hot spots. These places could see clashes over marine resources in the next six years due to fish stocks depleted by illegal, unreported and…

ADF STAFF Three military-led countries — Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger — dealt a blow to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) when they announced that they will leave the regional bloc. It was one of several blows that…