ADF

ADF STAFF Senegalese President Macky Sall’s announcement in July that he would not seek a third term in office was met with a mix of relief and pride in a country known for its democratic traditions. “A time bomb was just deactivated,” prominent Senegalese human rights advocate Alioune Tine told The New York Times. “It’s a huge relief for Senegal and the African continent.” Senegal, the only West African country that never has had a coup or a significant terrorist attack, long has been a pillar of regional stability. But cracks in the pillar have begun to show. Tensions have…

U.S. Africa Command Staff Investing in air power is never simple. Budgets are tight, and demands come from many directions. Aircraft are costly, hard to maintain and require extensive training to operate. But countries that make smart investments find that it pays off. Countries with strategic airlift use it to quickly respond to domestic and regional crises. Air forces with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities can pinpoint the location of enemies and target a ground-based or aerial response. Militaries flying light attack aircraft are well suited to the close-air support operations needed to defeat insurgencies.  Countries also are showing that…

Brig. Gen. Papa Souleymane Sarr has been chief of staff of the Senegalese Air Force since November 2020. He entered the Air Force in 1985, attending Le Cours Spécial de l’École de l’Air in France, where he earned his pilot rating and a degree in engineering. He was awarded the United Nations Medal and the French Aeronautical Medal of Honor for his service with the U.N. He has commanded at all levels of the Air Force, including head of the Operational Wing, Air Force Intelligence, Air Force Instruction and commandant of the Air Force Academy. He served as co-host of…

Voice of America As the fight against violent extremists in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province continues with a regional military force, the country has authorized the creation of local militias to help. The government in Maputo approved the decree on April 5, 2023, after having secured parliamentary approval for the move in November 2022. The Defense Ministry admitted that the Mozambican Army alone could not deal with the militants. Mozambique has been fighting militants linked to the Islamic State group in Cabo Delgado since 2017. The local self-defense militias already help the Mozambican armed forces and military contingents from Rwanda and some…

As Malawi was confronting what would end up being the deadliest cholera outbreak in its history, another menace waited offshore: Cyclone Freddy. The storm came aground in Madagascar and Mozambique in late February 2023. After gaining strength over the Mozambique Channel, it hit land again, affecting Malawi in March. Its rising waters and high winds made it one of the deadliest storms to ravage the country in the past two decades, Reuters reported. By mid-April, more than 1,000 had died because of the storm, according to President Lazarus Chakwera. It affected more than 2 million people and displaced more than…

The annual African Chiefs of Defense (CHoD) Conference 2023 offered a rare opportunity for military leaders to learn from fellow commanders on the front lines of some of the continent’s toughest battles. “In the militaries and the assignments that we all have, learning is a responsibility of command,” Botswana’s Commander of the Defence Force Lt. Gen. Placid Segokgo told attendees. “It should go vertically from the bottom up and from the top down. It should go horizontally, across to influence at a peer level.” Senior military leaders from 43 African countries convened at the 2023 CHoD Conference in Rome from…

ADF STAFF For most of post-independence history, air forces in Africa were not a priority. Expensive and difficult to maintain, air power was seen as a luxury not useful to the realities and unique threats on the continent. With tight budgets and command structures dominated by ground forces, air forces make up less than 10% of uniformed personnel in many countries.  That is changing. As countries face the threat of violent extremist organizations, light attack aircraft are proving to be a force multiplier that gives the military the upper hand. In battles against insurgent groups that thrive in remote areas,…

ADF STAFF As air chiefs unpacked their bags and got back to work after returning from a continental symposium in Senegal, nature brutally underscored some of the themes and challenges they had discussed there. Tropical Cyclone Freddy, after traveling more than 8,000 kilometers in 34 days, struck Mozambique’s northern Zambezia province on March 11, 2023, eight days after the end of the African Air Chiefs Symposium (AACS) in Dakar. It was the enormous storm’s second landfall. Powerful winds, rain and storm surge caused damage and destruction in Malawi, Mozambique, southeastern Zambia and northeastern Zimbabwe. The record-breaking cyclone first hit land in…

ADF STAFF Four United Nations peacekeeping missions in Africa are working to discredit disinformation campaigns aimed at undermining their credibility. The peacekeeping missions MONUSCO in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), MINUSCA in the Central African Republic (CAR), MINUSMA in Mali and UNMISS in South Sudan are working on the campaigns. The mission in Mali is scheduled to end by the end of 2023. The U.N. notes that the initiatives are a way of fighting back against falsehoods that feed anger and violence. It is monitoring how misinformation, disinformation and hate speech can harm health, security and stability, and hinder…

ADF STAFF A team of international cybersecurity investigators recently identified more than 20,600 suspicious websites tied to an estimated $40 million in financial losses across Africa. Africa Cyber Surge II was a four-month joint operation by Interpol and Afripol that involved 25 countries across the continent. It began in April and by August resulted in the arrests of 14 people running online scams in countries including Cameroon, Mauritius, and Nigeria. The operation followed the first Africa Cyber Surge conducted in 2022. Both operations were a reminder that the rapid spread of the internet and smartphone technology across Africa has happened,…