ADF

ADF STAFF The June massacre of 46 displaced persons in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ituri-based Lala camp has fueled resentment residents feel toward the United Nation’s decadeslong peacekeeping mission there. MONUSCO, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is the world’s largest peacekeeping mission. At $1 billion a year, it also is the most expensive peacekeeping mission. First deployed in 1999, the mission included 20,000 members at its peak. Today, it has more than 12,500 troops. Despite the mission’s size, duration and budget, experts and residents say it hasn’t brought peace to…

ADF STAFF More than 30 Kenyan security officers were killed by improvised explosive devices (IED) in more than 10 attacks over a three-week period in June. Officials suspect that al-Shabaab was behind the attacks in the northeastern Garissa and Lamu counties, both of which border Somalia. The group is the main terrorist threat in Kenya and often uses IEDs in its attacks. Several ambushes targeted Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) Soldiers, important infrastructure and a mine-resistant vehicle between June 7 and 12, according to the Institute for Security Studies (ISS). Between June 13 and June 25, attacks killed 20 KDF Soldiers,…

ADF STAFF Pressured by anti-militant campaigns in Nigeria, Boko Haram fighters have stepped up their attacks in Cameroon’s Far North region using improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The attacks target military vehicles, but also put civilians at risk. Since the beginning of the year, Boko Haram terrorists have launched attacks against dozens of communities in the Far North using IEDs and direct attacks. Militants have burned villages and looted residents’ homes. More than 4,000 people have fled. The Far North is part of the Lake Chad region, which has experienced a surge in terrorist violence in recent months. Much of that…

ADF STAFF The number of terrorist attacks in Africa rose from 330 in 2000 to 2,365 in 2018, according to the Global Terrorism Database. The sevenfold increase of attacks led to higher military spending in affected countries and their neighbors. Military spending on the continent rose from $10.6 billion in 2000 to $32.8 billion in 2018. Increasing terrorism also triggered some countries to increase their military spending to match a neighboring country’s expenditure. Those effects underscore the “urgent need” for collective action to address security threats on the continent. That is according to analysis by Amadou Boly, special assistant to the…

ADF STAFF Two reports shed light on the growing connection between Islamic State group affiliates in Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). For the first time, the United Nations Group of Experts on the DRC highlighted organizational links between the insurgents in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province and the Allied Democratic Forces terror group based in the eastern DRC. “Since late 2021, [the Allied Democratic Forces] has held several meetings with representatives of [the Islamic State group] and/or Ahl al-Sunna wal-Jama’a (ASWJ) in Mozambique, in South Kivu, to discuss operational strategy and tactics,” the experts stated in…

ADF STAFF Vast deposits of cobalt, copper, molybdenum and other metals have made the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Zimbabwe important centers of the global mining industry as companies seek resources vital to modern technology. Chinese companies have built significant mining footprints in both countries, often at the expense of the people doing the backbreaking work or living in the shadow of the mines. Researchers at the nongovernmental organization Business & Human Rights Resource Centre recorded 102 violations of human rights and environmental laws at 39 Chinese mines in 18 countries between January 2021 and December 2022. Of…

ADF STAFF Portable surface-to-air missiles from Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group and weaponized drones are helping Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) level the field in its conflict against the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). At the outset of the conflict, both sides were closely matched in personnel. But the SAF, armed with planes and heavy weaponry, was substantially better armed than the lightly equipped RSF. That has changed over the past four months as portable missile systems have poured in from Wagner bases in the Central African Republic and Libya. The source of the drones is less clear. Like other militias in…

ADF STAFF The Tunisian Air Force has received the first batch of eight Beechcraft T-6C Texan II trainer airplanes from the United States. The remaining four are expected to be delivered later in August. Designed and manufactured by Textron Aviation Defense, the T-6C is a single-engine turboprop aircraft with an approximate 10-meter wingspan and an all-digital, pressurized glass cockpit that offers pilots an unobstructed view. Other features include ejection seats, collision-avoidance and ground proximity warning systems, and an on-board oxygen system that provides supplemental oxygen for the pilots. “Becoming a regional leader in military flight training excellence is one of…

ADF STAFF Dark clouds of fear gathered in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, after Russia’s recent decision to end its Black Sea grain deal. Bakers, traders and hungry customers prepared for another surge of pain as Russia’s war on Ukraine continues to affect Africa. Halima Hussein, a mother of five who lives in a crowded Mogadishu camp for displaced people, was among those worried about shortages. “I don’t know how we will survive,” she told Reuters. “Aid agencies try their best to sustain our lives. They have very little to give.” Wheat prices that had doubled in 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine…

ADF STAFF Officials recorded three pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea over four days in late June and early July. Crew members of a cargo ship reported that three pirates boarded their vessel in late June as it was anchored in Takoradi, Ghana. The crew sounded an alarm that scared off the pirates, but not before they had stolen goods from the ship, according to a report by The Maritime Executive. Pirates attacked a cargo ship on the Wouri River, near Douala, Cameroon in early July. The river has an estuary on the Atlantic Ocean. Pirates abducted six crew…