ADF

ADF STAFF In the immediate aftermath of the Niger military coup in late July, Russia’s formal and informal responses were at odds. The Kremlin’s spokesperson called for the immediate release of detained Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum and urged a return to order. Wagner Group kingpin Yevgeny Prigozhin, however, offered to usher in a new order with his notorious mercenaries. In a voice recording posted to social media platform Telegram, he commended the Niger junta, denounced former colonial power France, and spread disinformation. “After the coup in Burkina Faso in October last year, there were Telegram accounts linked to Wagner that…

ADF STAFF In the early hours of August 29, Gabonese authorities announced that President Ali Bongo had won a disputed election that gave him a controversial third term. Gyldas A. Ofoulhast-Othamot, assistant professor of political science at St. Petersburg College in the United States, said there was plenty of evidence the election process was flawed at best, and rigged at worst. “Immediately after the vote, the internet was cut and a curfew put in place, rarely a sign of a regime confident that it has won at the polls,” he wrote in a September 1 analysis for The Conversation Africa…

ADF STAFF One violent extremist group has nearly doubled the territory it controls in Mali after the ruling junta severed ties with international peacekeepers and empowered brutal Russian mercenaries. The ramifications are roiling northern Mali, where problems began 11 years ago with an Islamist revolt and continue to proliferate in neighboring Burkina Faso to the south. In that country, militants have dominated the north, east and west since a coup removed the civilian government in 2022. Two groups are responsible for most of the violence: the Islamic State of the Greater Sahara (ISGS) and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM). In…

ADF STAFF Since the outbreak of violence in Sudan in April, the flow of weapons smuggled into the heavily armed country has become a flood. “We used to receive a shipment every three months, but now we’re getting one every two weeks,” weapons dealer Wad al-Daou told Agence France-Presse (AFP). “The demand for weapons has soared so high that we can’t possibly meet it.” Fighting has raged in and around Khartoum since April 15 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by al-Burhan’s rival general, known as Hemedti.…

ADF STAFF Abu Bakr al-Iraqi, the leader of Islamic State group (IS) in Sudan, secretly finances his operations through businesses in Turkey, according to a recent report by the United Nations. Investigators reported to the U.N. Security Council that al-Iraqi has several businesses in both Turkey and Sudan, including money exchanges and a tourism agency that he launched under fake identities. IS has had a foothold in Sudan since 2019. Al-Iraqi’s operations in Sudan include 100 to 200 IS fighters who are, according to the U.N. report, “seasoned operators, but act as facilitators for logistical movements and transactions.” Al-Iraqi also…

ADF STAFF In August 2022, an audio recording went viral on WhatsApp and social media networks in Burkina Faso. The message called on “indigenous” Burkinabé to rise up and exterminate members of the Fulani ethnic group. Lionel Bilgo, a government spokesman, called the recording “chilling.” “These are extremely serious words that are equivalent to the excesses of the Radio Mille Collines that led to the Rwandan genocide, one of humanity’s worst tragedies,” he wrote. The incident was not isolated. Across the continent, clashes between Fulani herders and farming communities are fueling hatred and spawning wider violence. As Fulanis are isolated…

Maj. Gen. Hendrick Thuthu Rakgantswana became chief of Botswana’s Air Arm Command in 2021 after serving in the Air Force since 1986. Rakgantswana has served as squadron commander of the Fixed-Wing Air Mobility Squadron and has piloted the presidential jet. He also has been Air Force director of operations and base commander at Thebephatshwa Air Base, the Botswana Defence Force’s main air base, about 100 kilometers outside the capital, Gaborone. Rakgantswana spoke with ADF on February 28, 2023, the first day of the African Air Chiefs Symposium, in Dakar, Senegal. His remarks have been edited for length and clarity.  ADF:…

ADF STAFF Northeast Nigeria’s famed Sambisa Forest is known for its low-profile trees and dense thickets, punishing anyone foolish enough to traverse it without a machete. It spreads across 512 square kilometers in Borno State and has served as a refuge for Boko Haram and associated militants. For years, Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have used the unforgiving forest as a base of operations. Boko Haram kidnapped young girls and hid in the forest. Militants would emerge from the bush, attack security forces and disappear into its cover. In the past several years, however, Nigerian…

African nations have spent years working to equip Somalia’s fledgling government to achieve stability. As the African Union peacekeeping mission gave way to the AU Transition Mission in Somalia, the work has continued. Women have been an essential element of that effort. Lance Cpl. Dorine Chekwemboi, a Ugandan tank driver serving in the mission in Mogadishu, and her colleagues continue to contribute to peace and security as Somalia begins to take more control of its future.

ADF STAFF Modern fighter jets are marvels of power and complexity. Armed with air-to-air missiles, they can reach speeds of 1,600 kilometers per hour. They are also stunningly expensive. The current generation of fighter jets start at about $100 million each, and it is estimated that each plane will cost $1 billion in operational expenses and maintenance over the course of its optimal life span. There’s also the matter of usefulness. In anything less than air combat and missile strikes, a fighter jet is overkill. Since the end of the Cold War, air forces have seldom flown in heavily contested…