ADF

ADF STAFF The Chinese-built Standard Gauge Railway in Kenya was supposed to be profitable by transporting cargo from Mombasa to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Uganda, then bringing goods from those countries back to Kenya. A Chinese feasibility study that underpinned the project claimed the railway, also known as the SGR, would move 22 million tons of freight a year, or 20 trains a day. According to some estimates, the railway handles only about a quarter of that much freight. Critics of the project abound due to its shortcomings, the opaque nature of its deal, and the…

ADF STAFF For seven years, the Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP) has relied on a network of Islamic State group affiliates to fund much of its terror campaign across the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. However, recent events suggest that network might not be as reliable as it once was. Two events appear to be putting ISCAP’s finances of shaky ground: the recent collapse of IS operations in Mozambique and al-Shabaab’s repeated losses in Somalia. Like similar groups, ISCAP also extorts money from local residents in the DRC’s North Kivu and Ituri provinces, where it is…

ADF STAFF Terrorism in Sub-Saharan Africa is intensifying, and experts say the central Sahel region has replaced the Middle East as its global epicenter. Worldwide deaths from terrorism increased by 22% in 2023 to 8,352 — the most since 2017 — according to the 2024 Global Terrorism Index (GTI), published on February 29. “Sub-Saharan Africa alone accounted for just under 59% of all fatalities,” the GTI report stated. “The Sahel accounts for almost half of all deaths from terrorism globally.” Although terrorism in Sub-Saharan Africa got substantially worse in 2023, some experts noted that violent extremist organizations are becoming more…

ADF STAFF After a six-year lull in major attacks, Somali pirates in December attacked four vessels as international navies relocated from the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea, where they protect maritime traffic from attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Some observers believe al-Shabaab militants in Somalia’s northern Sanaag region reached a deal to provide protection to pirates in exchange for 30% of all ransom proceeds and a cut of any loot, Emirati newspaper The National reported. The deal could provide al-Shabaab with critical funds after the Somali government clamped down on its other illegal money sources and froze its bank…

ADF STAFF In one of Africa’s largest gatherings of air force commanders, leaders discussed how increased mobility and strategic partnerships can help restore peace to some of the continent’s most troubled regions. The occasion was the Association of African Air Forces’ 2024 African Air Chiefs Symposium in Tunis, Tunisia. About 270 people from 37 African nations attended, including 27 of 30 association members. The meeting ran from February 26 through March 1. Topics included opportunities for increased partnerships, peacekeeping, recognizing the inherent value of enlisted personnel and providing more resources to female recruits. Key speakers included Imed Memmich, Tunisia’s minister…

ADF STAFF Ethiopian security forces killed at least 45 civilians in their homes in Amhara State in late January, according to the state-affiliated Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC). The commission said in a statement that victims in the northern town of Merawi were killed for allegedly supporting Fano, an Amharic word meaning “volunteer fighters.” A pregnant woman was among the victims. “It can be assumed that the number of victims is even higher,” the commission said. Witnesses told the BBC that uniformed Ethiopian security officers conducted house-to-house searches after several hours of fighting between Ethiopian forces and Fano fighters on January…

ADF STAFF More than a decade of violent conflicts in the Sahel has given rise to the thriving business of firearms trafficking, in which demand far outpaces supply. With a 2022 population of 4.2 million, Mali’s capital city of Bamako is one of the primary centers for the illegal weapons trade. Oluwole Ojewale, Central Africa regional coordinator for the South Africa-based Institute for Security Studies, authored a recent study that examined the causes of arms trafficking in Bamako. “Arms are trafficked along the trans-Saharan route, which includes Libya, Algeria, Niger and Ménaka [in eastern] Mali,” he wrote in a February…

ADF STAFF The African Union in mid-February dealt a blow to China’s ejiao industry when it banned the slaughter of donkeys for their skin in all 54 countries, earning praise from animal rights organizations. Collagen extracted from donkey skin produces ejiao, a traditional Chinese remedy used by people with anemia, low blood cell counts or reproductive issues, despite no scientific evidence that it works. It also is used in snacks and beauty products such as face creams. The collagen is extracted by boiling donkey hides that are mixed with herbs and other ingredients to produce bars, pills and liquids. Marketed to the…

ADF STAFF Ghana banned rosewood logging in 2019. Despite that, logging continues, driven by China’s insatiable appetite for the lumber and the substantial amounts of money Chinese logging companies spread around in some of Ghana’s poorest communities. As recently as 2021, Ghana exported more than $2 million worth of endangered rosewood logs to China. A Chinese logging interest in Ghana’s Yipala community operated until late 2021, according to experts who visited the site. In April 2023, investigators with GH Environment found illegal rosewood logging underway in Damongo, the capital of Ghana’s Savannah region. By some estimates, more than 6 million…

ADF STAFF M23 rebels in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have acquired high-tech weaponry not typical of such militias, raising questions about whether Southern African Development Community (SADC) troops might find themselves outgunned as they attempt to help bring the rebels to heel. The attempted downing of a United Nations observation drone about 70 kilometers north of Goma in February was the most recent sign that M23 fighters possess military-grade weapons beyond the small arms most common to such groups. In that incident, the U.N. observed a surface-to-air missile (SAM) battery later identified as a Chinese-made WZ551…