ADF

ADF STAFF Growing up in internally displaced persons camps in northern Uganda in the 1980s, Hakim Owiny was surrounded by armed conflict. There was suffering all around, but the sting of disinformation seared into his memory. Rumors spread that the people in the camps were violent, and those false characterizations fueled further waves of violence, division and unrest. Today, Owiny is a 37-year-old civic educator who works in his Lamwo district community to teach young people about the benefits of inclusive dialogue and the dangers of disinformation. “Disinformation is one of the most destructive camouflaged lethal weapons among people living…

ADF STAFF Liberia’s journey with United Nations peacekeeping forces has come full circle over the course of two decades. In need of support after 14 years of unrest and two civil wars, the West African country hosted a U.N. peacekeeping mission in 2003. Ten years later, the rebuilt Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) deployed a platoon as part of the U.N. stabilization mission in Mali (MINUSMA). On December 21, 2023, with the closure of MINUSMA, Liberia’s contingent of 162 peacekeepers returned home from Mali and was greeted with gratitude and pride. “You are now the beacon of hope, not only…

ADF STAFF Mairame Ba joined a unique group of women in 2022 when she graduated from a six-month training course to become one of Senegal’s first “Solar Mamas.” The course, run by India’s Barefoot College International, aims to train women in villages across Africa to become experts in building and maintaining solar power systems for their communities. “I never imagined that I could become a solar energy professional at my age — and without ever having been to school,” Ba, then 59, told The Wall Street Journal after graduating in 2022. The Solar Mamas program is an example of India’s…

ADF STAFF Having secured most of the Cabo Delgado region, the Mozambique Defence Armed Forces plan to sever supply lines for the few terrorists hiding in the Catupa Forest as they push to rid the country of the threat entirely. With the help of Rwanda Security Forces and troops from the Southern African Development Community, Mozambique has eliminated more than 90% of terrorist operations in the Cabo Delgado region. The remaining 200 to 250 terrorists survive in small groups without a base of operations and are hiding in the Catupa Forest, according to Mozambique Defence Forces Commander Maj. Gen. Tiago…

ADF STAFF A United Nations helicopter in mid-January was conducting a medical evacuation when a technical problem forced it to make an emergency landing in an area long controlled by al-Shabaab in central Somalia. The terror group abducted six people and shot another person dead as they tried to flee. The incident underlined the struggles Somalia has faced since it asked the U.N. in September to delay the planned drawdown of 3,000 African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) Soldiers. The attack and others show that al-Shabaab still poses a threat and highlights challenges faced by the Somali National Army…

ADF STAFF In early December, a Maltese-flagged merchant ship was hijacked off the coast of Somalia. It is believed to be the first successful attack on a merchant ship in the region since 2017. Gerry Northwood, a former captain who commanded warships in the region with Britain’s Royal Navy, told Reuters the attacks indicate that pirates “think they have a permissive environment ashore.” Somalia’s nearly 3,400-kilometer coastline, which includes the Gulf of Aden, the Guardafui Channel and Western Indian Ocean waters, is extremely difficult to police. “Add to which naval patrols are thin on the ground and security on ships…

ADF STAFF On the surface, Diamville SAU is a Central African company working in the diamond trade. But Diamville is more than that: It’s the front for a Russian operation selling diamonds from the Central African Republic to finance Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Diamville operates in the Central African Republic (CAR) under the umbrella of Russia’s Africa Corps, the mercenary group formerly known as the Wagner Group. Diamond mining is part of Russia’s strategy to extract valuable resources from African countries, often in exchange for providing military aid through Africa Corps. Diamville took control of CAR’s diamond industry by…

ADF STAFF That Senegal has never had a coup or a civil war is both a source of great pride among its people and a rarity in Africa. The coastal West African country, surrounded by what recently has become known as a “coup belt” of countries that stretches across the continent, owes much of its stability to its military. Having worked with senior officers in the Army, Senegalese activist Alioune Tine says his country’s armed forces have a strong reputation on the continent and internationally for being well-trained, disciplined and principled. “There is a democratic culture, and there is also…

ADF STAFF The Somali National Army and local forces in late December recaptured Masagaway, a town in central Galmudug State, from al-Shabaab, marking a significant victory in the ongoing war. Masagaway is about 270 kilometers northeast of Mogadishu and is home to a military base. It has been the site of major battles between government forces and local militias, and had been under al-Shabaab control for four months. “The al-Shabaab terrorists have been removed from Masagaway town and operations to pursue them are going on from several fronts in eastern parts of the Galguduud region at the moment,” Abdirahman Yusuf Al-Adala,…

ADF STAFF Five people were kidnapped on the Mayo Djarendi-Madingring road in northern Cameroon in early September. The abductors, known for their activity in the Mayo-Rey department, demanded a 40,000,000 Central African CFA francs (almost $67,000) ransom to release the hostages, according to the Actu Cameroun newspaper. The victims worked for the Forests and Environment Sector Program, raising concerns about the safety of aid workers and development program employees in the region. In late October, bandits kidnapped 40 people from Chad and Cameroon in the northern Cameroonian commune of Touboro. Touboro Mayor Célestin Yandal said the victims were returning home…