ADF

The armed conflict between the Sudan Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces crossed into its fourth year in April, leaving behind a trail of destruction. The human toll has been catastrophic, with thousands of lives lost and countless communities torn apart. Huge numbers of civilians have been uprooted from their homes, with many fleeing to safer regions within Sudan, while others have sought refuge in bordering nations. What began as an internal power struggle has grown into one of the most severe humanitarian crises in recent history. External actors have fueled the ongoing conflict by providing military supplies…

Iranian and Russian “shadow fleet” vessels use bogus websites that mimic African ship registries, maritime administrations, seafarer organizations and other layers of maritime compliance to evade sanctions on oil exports. Fake websites connected to these fleets likely are used to generate and corroborate false documents and certificates, according to a recent report by Insikt Group, the threat intelligence research division of Recorded Future, a cybersecurity company. These websites routinely impersonate national maritime administrations and ship registries in Benin, Cameroon, Chad, the Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Malawi and Zambia, and they facilitate false flag registration in several other countries. The fake websites…

As the Democratic Republic of the Congo battles a stubborn Ebola outbreak, mistrust, violence and instability are hindering health officials’ ability to respond. But lessons learned from the past and public health best practices offer a roadmap for how to stop the spread of the deadly disease. Experts fear the outbreak that began in May has yet to reach its peak and could last a year. “It is still in the expansion phase unfortunately,” Dr. Anne Ancia, the World Health Organization’s representative to the DRC, told reporters on July 7 according to Reuters. “We would like to say it is…

The al-Qaida-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) terror group on June 18 attacked Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, Niger’s capital, killing 11 soldiers and two civilians. Witnesses reported gunfire and explosions in the battle with security forces. Authorities said they killed 22 terrorists. The airport is a strategic hub that hosts military bases, the headquarters of the Niger-Burkina Faso-Mali Joint Force and a uranium stockpile. JNIM’s rival, the Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP), attacked a military base near the airport in late January. Authorities said soldiers killed 20 terrorists and arrested 20 others. The attack wounded four soldiers and…

In Nigeria’s illicit cybercrime training schools known as hustle kingdoms, there are no locks on the doors. Yet the young men being coerced into a life of online fraud don’t leave. They are held in place by something more durable than a lock and tougher to break than a chain. They are held by juju oaths, a practice tied to traditional West African spirituality. Juju is typically used as a form of protection. However, hustle kingdom operators, known as chairmen, have weaponized it. They tell their victims that breaking a juju oath by leaving or reporting on what happens in…

Terrorists have resumed attacks in northern districts of Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province, relying on improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to limit the movements of Mozambican and Rwandan military forces. The Islamic State Mozambique stepped up its IED attacks in June, according to a report by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project (ACLED). “After two months in southern Cabo Delgado, Islamic State Mozambique (ISM) insurgents have begun to return to bases in Macomia,” ACLED reported. ACLED researchers first reported the terrorist group using IEDs in 2021. Since then, their records show 45 IED incidents, including 35 in the Macomia and…

Burkinabe Imam Mohamed Ishaq Kindo spoke publicly in May against proposed legislation meant to restrict religious freedom. The military junta led by Capt. Ibrahim Traoré jailed him days later. It was a typical response by a regime that has abducted journalists, suspended media outlets, and silenced critics with torture and forced conscription. Exiled Burkinabe journalist Newton Ahmed Barry said the arrest of civilians such as Kindo, a prominent Sunni leader, underscore the government’s controlling strategy. “This is the logic of this junta and its leader: The more people are afraid, the more they buy their way out of trouble,” Barry told…

African countries share many challenges that no single country can solve alone, from terrorism and drug trafficking to illegal fishing and weak border security. As they confront those challenges, nations often struggle to deploy their most effective weapon: trust. Without trust, the cross-border cooperation and regional collaboration required to meet those challenges will always fall short, according to military leaders who gathered in Luanda, Angola, for the African Chiefs of Defense (ACHOD) conference. The conference serves as the key forum for senior military officials to address shared security threats, improve regional stability and discuss collaborative frameworks that enable long-term investment…

China has invested $50 billion in African port infrastructure since 2013 and Beijing has either financed, built, has a stake in, or controls operations of an estimated 78 trade ports in 32 African countries. These investments, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, are part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, include port enhancements and improvements to  railways and industrial zones. This has helped increase continental trade with China, but analysts have warned that high debt tied to murky deals risks African sovereignty and the possibility of Beijing intertwining its investments with military purposes and intelligence-gathering. African…

The United Nations has marked a historic milestone with the handover of seven military bases in the Central African Republic to local government and security forces. During a ceremony on June 10 in Mbaïki, Valentine Rugwabiza, the chief of the U.N. Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), said the transfer is about much more than brick-and-mortar buildings. “We are transferring the tasks performed by MINUSCA to national authorities in the zones,” she said. This, she added, includes, “providing security, protecting civilians, supporting civil authorities and maintaining access roads.” MINUSCA was established in 2014 during a crisis that left much…