ADF

Terror came to Benin in 2019. Sahel-based extremists emerged from Pendjari National Park and kidnapped two French tourists and their guide. Since then, a flood of incursions has bedeviled the country, increasing with each passing year. Benin deployed 3,000 troops to the north under Operation Mirador to prevent militant attacks on civilians, security forces and park rangers in the W-Arly-Pendjari (WAP) Complex, which includes territory in Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger. Sahel-based militants have ramped up attacks on Benin and Togo and crept closer to Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Mauritania and Senegal. “The annual number of violent events linked to…

Photo by afp/getty images A Multinational Joint Task Force boat carries people to safety after floods devastated Maiduguri, Nigeria, in September 2024. Nigeria was not the only country where the military responded to destructive floods in 2024. The Kenya Defence Forces deployed in April to rescue those affected by heavy rains. About 300 Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces Soldiers helped search for and evacuate people in the Bulambuli district after a landslide killed at least 28 people in November. Record amounts of rain fell in 27 African countries during the year, killing 2,500 people, displacing 4 million, inundating cropland and killing…

COMMANDER SETH ANTHONY DZAKPASU, GHANA ARMED FORCES | photos by reuters As the threat of violent extremism was growing in the Sahel and West Africa in 2005, U.S. Africa Command sponsored a new exercise. It was designed to tackle the threat head-on by bringing together special operations forces (SOF) from across the region and pairing them with allies from Europe and North America. From its first iteration, which included seven African nations and more than 700 Soldiers, Flintlock has focused on special operations task units and operator level training for SOF. These operators are some of the best of the…

Chief instructors of Command and Staff Colleges from 18 nations met in Kigali, Rwanda, in July for a workshop on improving military training and education, while cultivating a common understanding of emerging threats driven by new technologies. The theme of this year’s African Command and Staff Colleges Chief Instructors Workshop was “The Future of African Military Training and Education: Bridging the Digital Divide.” “The overarching aim of this workshop is to strengthen collaboration through open dialogue and mutual learning,” Brig. Gen. Andrew Nyamvumba, commandant of the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) Command and Staff College, said in a news release. (RDF…

Terrorists across Africa are using artificial intelligence (AI) to develop propaganda videos and spread disinformation against government agencies. However, governments are turning the same technology against terrorists to predict and deter their activities. As AI becomes an increasingly large part of terrorism and counterterrorism on the continent, the African Union (AU) has proposed a set of steps designed to guide the way nations employ AI across sectors of their societies. “By leveraging AI technologies, governments and security agencies can enhance intelligence, improve surveillance, and disrupt propaganda efforts,” analyst Abraham Ename Minko wrote for the Global Network on Extremism and Technology…

Recent protests in the Central African Republic (CAR) could have the government reconsidering its relationship with the Russian Ministry of Defense. Thousands of people held signs and marched in the streets of the capital, Bangui, on April 4 to rally against the ongoing presence of Russian Wagner Group mercenaries who have guarded President Faustin Archange Touadéra. Wagner fighters have acted as Touadéra’s personal security detail since 2018. They helped him change the constitution by referendum in July 2023, which allows him to stay in power indefinitely. “We’re here to say no to a third term for Faustin Archange Touadéra. But…

Africa accounted for 57% of the total quantity of pharmaceutical opioids seized worldwide between 2019 and 2023, according to a new report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The estimated use of opioids on the continent was highest in Central and West Africa. The UNODC’s 2025 World Drug Report shows that although Africa remains a transit hub for drugs headed to other regions, drugs increasingly are consumed on the continent, particularly cannabis — Africa’s most trafficked, sourced and sold drug — as well as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and synthetic drugs. Statistics in the report were compiled…

Old adversaries Ethiopia and Eritrea appear to be marching toward war, as saber-rattling has escalated into threats, and troops are massing at the shared border. Shifting alliances, geopolitical aspirations, ethnic divisions and contested access to the Red Sea have become a pressure cooker in the Horn of Africa. Some experts are warning of a growing sense that violent conflict, if not regional warfare, is imminent. “The Ethiopian government never indicated it would move to secure sea access through force, but Eritrea is gearing up its military for war. Reports indicate it has fortified its border with Ethiopia,” political analyst Constantinos…

Ghanaian authorities are promising to punish Chinese nationals involved in illegal gold mining as the government tries to reduce the environmental and societal damage being caused by the small-scale mining known as galamsey. “The laws of Ghana will deal ruthlessly with Chinese nationals engaged in illegal mining,” Dr. Hannah Louisa Bissiw-Kotei, administrator for Ghana’s Mineral Development Fund, said during a recent media briefing. Meanwhile, Chinese authorities have attempted to deflect blame from Chinese nationals goldmining in the country, saying the Ghanaian government and its people are the ones behind illegal gold mining and the damage it causes. Observers say that…

It has been two years since Gen. Abdourahamane Tiani overthrew Niger’s democratically elected president and pledged to restore security to the country. However, the latest data shows Tiani has made little progress against a rising tide of terrorist violence. “Until the fall of 2023, the insurgencies in Niger were at a relatively steady state,” analyst Michael DeAngelo wrote recently for the Foreign Policy Research Institute. “Niger’s pre-coup approach was a limited success, while its post-coup approach is a failure.” Before the 2023 coup, then-President Mohamed Bazoum pursued a policy of increased security within insurgent areas paired with talks to determine…