ADF

ADF STAFF  |  Photos by AFP/GETTY IMAGES As dawn gave way to light on June 4, 2005, a few dozen Mauritanian Soldiers began to prepare for their duties in a remote outpost near the Algerian and Malian borders. The area, known as El Hank, sits in one of the Sahara’s most arid pockets and is known for the comings and goings of bandits and traffickers. It stands as a perfect example of one of Africa’s many ungoverned spaces: far from Mauritania’s capital, Nouakchott, and far from major population centers in neighboring countries. More than 150 extremists aligned with the Salafist…

ADF STAFF  |  Photos by AFP/GETTY IMAGES Morocco is an unlikely place for the rehabilitation of imprisoned extremists. The Global Terrorism Index for 2022 ranks Morocco 76th among countries affected by terrorist threats, making it one of the safest countries in Africa. A 2003 terrorist attack in Casablanca, in which 45 people were killed, galvanized the country against extremists. After the attack, which consisted of five near-simultaneous bombings, the country tightened its borders and added new laws to its legal counterterrorism framework, including expanding the definition of terrorism to include incitement. The 2022 terrorism index noted that “despite more than…

CAPT. TAHIR NGADA, NIGERIAN NAVY The importance of the Gulf of Guinea to Africa and the wider world can hardly be overstated. With 6,000 kilometers of coastline touching 19 littoral states from Senegal to Angola, the gulf is rich in natural resources and strategically important. It is a vital corridor for commerce where shipping volume increased by 59% between 2006 and 2020, according to U.N. Conference on Trade and Development statistics. It also holds energy resources, producing 3.1 million barrels of crude oil per day, or about 3.8% of the global total. It is rich in aquatic life, with fisheries…

ADF STAFF | photos by Getty Images About 100 marauders stormed the Cameroonian town of Mozogo at 1:30 a.m. on January 8, 2021. From the way they dressed and spoke, it was obvious that they were Boko Haram extremists. They broke into homes and looted them. They shot at fleeing townspeople, who ran into nearby woods. A suicide bomber caught up with some of them and detonated a rigged vest. Twelve people died in the explosion, including eight children. Three more people were injured. The suicide bomber was a woman. This is not unusual; the Institute for Security Studies says…

DEFENCEWEB Mozambique’s armed forces have taken delivery of two refurbished transport aircraft acquired from Paramount Group of South Africa. The company handed over a Let-410 Turbolet and a CN-235M transport plane to the Mozambican military. Air Force officials said the planes will be used for cargo and troop transport and special forces and paratrooper deployment, Notícias reported. Mozambican officials said that Paramount, a defense industry company, supplied the aircraft along with training and maintenance. The Botswana Defence Force operated the CN-235M-10, made in 1987, until 2011. The CN-235 is a medium-range twin-engine transport aircraft that was jointly developed by CASA…

DEFENCEWEB Tethered drones are making life easier for Nigerian law enforcement authorities responsible for securing the border and fighting crime and terrorism. The equipment comes from drone company Elistair, which has supplied Orion tethered unmanned aerial vehicles to Nigerian police, a company statement said. The company delivered the drones, along with training in Abuja, at the beginning of the year, and “tethered drones are now deployed daily.” Police use Orions to successfully identify armed terrorist groups, using observation and threat detection during 24-hour flights. “Drones assist police to monitor active crime scenes, coordinate response operations and provide aerial support to…

DEFENCEWEB Tunisia’s Air Force has taken delivery of the first T-6C Texan II training aircraft as part of an order for eight planes. The U.S. company Textron said all eight planes should be delivered by the end of 2023. Training of the initial cadre of pilots began in late 2022 at Textron Aviation Defense facilities in Wichita, Kansas, in the U.S. The Tunisian Air Force is relying on TRU Simulation + Training Inc., an affiliate of Textron, for a suite of training devices and related support. The devices, slated for installation at Sfax air base in Tunisia, include a ground-based…

ADF STAFF The Kenya Space Agency (KSA) is working on using satellite technology to improve the lives of Kenyans.  Brig. Hillary Kipkosgey, acting director of the KSA, said it has invested significantly in projects such as Monitoring for Decisions using Space Technologies to track forest cover, urbanization and for help in planning disaster management.  “KSA believes that space science, technology and applications have the potential to spur economic growth,” Kipkosgey told a gathering during Kenya Innovation Week (KIW) in December 2022 at the Sarit Expo Centre in Nairobi. He gave his keynote address during a KIW sideline event known as…

ADF STAFF Ghana is working to position itself as a continental leader in cybersecurity. The country has created a civilian-led cybersecurity network rooted in the country’s Ministry of Communication, but with key branches in the security and technology sectors. On the front line of Ghana’s ongoing fight against online threats, the Cyber Security Authority, created in 2021, and the National Computer Emergency Response Team track threats in real time and coordinate the response to major events. The authority requires all cybersecurity companies to be licensed and, as of January 1, 2023, began auditing owners of critical information infrastructure to ensure…

ADF STAFF Countries are embracing the use of unmanned aerial and surface vehicles to strengthen their ability to patrol and control their coastal waters. These tools allow for the surveillance and identifying of possible acts of piracy, illegal fishing and trafficking. “One takeaway is the enhanced situational awareness from this technology expanding the range of sight in the field against targets in the field,” Nigerian drone pilot Ebunoluwa George Ojo-ami, a member of the Nigerian Maritime Academy and a volunteer with the Gulf of Guinea Maritime Institute, told ADF. “Compared to manned aircraft, drones offer relatively cheaper cost and can…