ADF

ADF STAFF A young farmer wielded a hoe under the unrelenting sun in the northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ituri province. A Soldier with the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) stood nearby, protecting him. Along a dirt road, MONUSCO peacekeepers accompanied women and children who carried baskets of produce. Surrounding agricultural fields, blue helmets with rifles were poised to thwart any threats to the workers. For years, the region has been plagued by conflict between rebel groups, self-defense forces and other militias. The M23 terror group in particular is active in…

ADF STAFF The splintered Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) continues to bicker over many issues amid swirling security crises in Ethiopia’s northern region. Two years after a peace deal was signed to end a civil war, armed groups continue to operate in Tigray, while human trafficking and illegal gold mining networks further destabilize the area. Debretsion Gebremichael, who leads one faction, announced in late December 2024 that his side was launching a “peaceful struggle” during a meeting with senior leaders in Mekelle, but he did not elaborate on what that means. The announcement was made amid allegations from a TPLF…

ADF STAFF Pharaoh Taharqa was devoted to tradition. He built pyramids. He embraced titles, spoke the Egyptian language and used its writing system as his medium of record. He took on ambitious construction projects and was committed to the revitalization of Egyptian religious sites. But Taharqa, who ruled from 690 B.C. to 664 B.C., was not Egyptian. He was a Nubian from the Kingdom of Kush in what is now Sudan. He was one of the Nubian pharaohs of the 25th Dynasty. They ruled Egypt for almost 100 years. The dynasty’s rise to power in Egypt began with King Piye…

CLUES This site has one of the highest concentrations of rock art in the region, dating back at least 13,000 years. Archaeological evidence indicates the area has been occupied for at least 500,000 years. The rock formations are seen as the seat of ancestral spirits. The paintings represent evolving artistic styles and socio-religious beliefs. ANSWER  Matobo Hills, Zimbabwe

ADF STAFF Clashes between civilian prime ministers and military junta leaders in the Sahel are highlighting the unsteady nature of military-led governments in a region where terror attacks are multiplying. On December 6, Capt. Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso removed Prime Minister Apollinaire Kelem de Tambela, whom he had appointed to the position two years earlier. Traore also dissolved the government. The move came as Burkina Faso faces a deteriorating security situation with 13,500 people killed by extremist violence since the military took power in a coup in 2022. Armed groups now control more than half of the country. In…

ADF STAFF Authorities in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo’s South Kivu province arrested 17 Chinese men in mid-December after making an unannounced visit to a gold mine in the village of Karhembo. About 60 Chinese nationals were at the mine, and officials detained those who appeared to be in charge. “We asked them to present us with the company’s documents,” Bernard Muhindo, South Kivu’s finance minister and acting mines minister, told Reuters. “There were no documents, zero. No certificate, no status, no national identification, nothing.” Less than a week later, 14 of the men were released and headed…

ADF STAFF Shortly before war broke out between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in April 2023, a different battle began online led by hackers affiliated with the Russian-backed Anonymous Sudan. In January 2023, Anonymous Sudan launched targeted attacks against computers across Europe, the Middle East and North America. Known as distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, the tactic is designed to cripple specific computer networks by overloading them with fake incoming traffic. The hackers targeted hospitals, online companies and even Israel’s missile alert system. While Anonymous Sudan portrays itself as a Sudanese nationalist…

ADF STAFF India’s diplomatic engagements on the continent are increasing, and defense has emerged as a key area of cooperation. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Nigeria in November 2024, marking the first visit by an Indian prime minister to the country in 17 years. During the visit, Modi and Nigerian President Bola Tinubu pledged increased collaboration in counterterrorism, intelligence sharing and maritime security. This aims to help both countries address growing threats in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea. The countries share a strong history of partnership, as both navies have taken part in 47 rounds of…

ADF STAFF Chaos continues to reign in many parts of Mali, as extremist militant groups terrorize civilians and clash with government forces and Russian mercenaries on a near-daily basis. Following up on a brazen attack in September against the ruling military junta in Mali’s capital, Bamako, the al-Qaida-affiliated alliance of terrorist groups called Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) is pushing to expand its areas of control. JNIM seized another town in the Timbuktu region, Léré, on November 29 and has since kept it isolated — a familiar tactic that the group has used to choke local economies, thwart the movements…

ADF STAFF Ethnic Arab fighters with Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) committed dozens of war crimes against civilian residents of two communities in South Kordofan state while fighting government forces, according to a recent analysis by Human Rights Watch. Satellite imagery and interviews with survivors documented the RSF’s onslaught against the communities of Habila and Fayu, both populated by non-Arabic ethnic Nuba people. The attacks in the first three months of 2024 killed at least 56 civilians. RSF fighters are also accused of raping women and looting and burning homes in both communities. Satellite images show that since the…