ADF

ADF STAFF While Sudan’s rival generals battle for control of the country, Russia’s Wagner Group mercenaries continue to cash in despite the chaos. As other mining companies suspended operations in the country, Wagner’s affiliate Meroe Gold continued operation of its gold mines. Many are run with the support of Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, in territory he and his family control. In exchange for that partnership, Wagner is suspected of providing Hemedti and the RSF with surface-to-air missiles and other weapons in their fight against the Sudan Armed Forces controlled by Gen.…

ADF STAFF Since mid-March, tens of thousands of people have fled communities in the Ituri province of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as they try to escape attacks by CODECO, a former farmers’ cooperative that has become one of dozens of armed militias destabilizing the region. Since the beginning of 2017, fighting in Ituri has forced about 1.5 million people from their homes, according to the United Nations. CODECO fighters, who are members of the Lendu group, began as the Coopérative pour le développement du Congo. They evolved into a militant group during the period of intense interethnic…

ADF STAFF The brutal attack lasted about six hours. When it was over, at least 156 people were dead. Some of the victims were blindfolded, some were babies under a month old, killed on their mothers’ backs. The late April attack in Karma, a village in Burkina Faso’s northern Yatenga province, was perpetrated by more than 100 people in Burkinabé military uniforms who rode in on motorcycles, in pickup trucks and armored cars. “We were on the way to the well with my donkey when we saw them moving towards us,” child survivor Belem Lassane told Al-Jazeera. “We hid in…

ADF STAFF A recent attack less than 40 kilometers west of Cameroon’s largest city, Douala, has citizens feeling unnerved and insecure. On May 1, at least 15 heavily armed Anglophone separatists attacked a military post in the farming village of Matouke. It was the closest the rebels had come to the country’s most important economic hub since fighting began in 2017. Officials and witnesses said the rebels killed at least six people — five Soldiers and one civilian — and wounded several others. Douala, a city of about 4 million people, is a critical seaport for the region, supplying landlocked…

ADF STAFF In early May, workers completed a $38 million project to construct new facilities for the Nigerian Air Force’s (NAF) fleet of 12 A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft at Kainji Air Base. Part of a joint $500 million project with the U.S. government, the facilities include a munition storage area with earth-covered magazines for secure storage capability, a munitions maintenance and assembly facility, new taxiway and cargo pad. The team modernized a hangar with electrical capability needed to maintain the fleet, a renovated tire shop and battery room, mission planning and debriefing rooms, and a Battle Aviation Training…

ADF STAFF Cease-fires have failed. Rival sides seem evenly matched. The men at the top are increasingly entrenched in their opposition to each other. Regional players are choosing sides. Observers say they’ve seen these factors before, and they wonder whether Sudan could be headed for the kind of division that has crippled Libya for years. For nearly a decade, Libya has been deeply divided between rival governments, one in Tripoli recognized by the international community, and the other run by the House of Representatives in the eastern city of Tobruk. The factions spent seven years fighting before establishing a Government…

ADF STAFF After 18 years and three multinational peace missions, Somalia is getting ready to take full control of its own security. The 1-year-old African Union Transitional Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) is preparing to withdraw 2,000 troops from the embattled Horn of Africa nation by June 30, 2023, the first of three drawdowns in its transition plan. The African Union has committed to withdraw the troops gradually and strategically, sector by sector, with an eye toward ending ATMIS by December 31, 2024. Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda contribute troops to the mission. Another 3,000 ATMIS troops are expected to…

ADF STAFF When longtime Sudanese ruler Omar Al-Bashir stepped down in the face of a popular uprising, there was hope that a new era was beginning. But as the country slides into chaos three years later, many believe that al-Bashir’s decades of poor governance and mismanagement of the military paved the way for the nation’s collapse. Even in the heady days following the civilian uprising, some warned that the departing leader had left the country in a perilous position. “The 30 years [of al-Bashir’s rule] were really horrible because that military dictatorship was very tough with the people — they…

ADF STAFF Extremist rebel groups in Mali have long trafficked cocaine, engaged in illegal gold mining and kidnapping hostages for ransom to fund their operations. As groups such as the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) and Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) compete to extend their spheres of influence and control supply lines in the country, they are turning to cattle rustling, according to a Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) report. “Cattle rustling is directly linked to the current armed conflict, as communities launch retaliatory attacks and counter attacks in Mali and in the border areas,”…

ADF STAFF Battles between Sudan’s rival military leaders spread from Khartoum, the nation’s capital, to Darfur in late April, sparking concerns that a decades-old conflict in the western desert region may be reignited. Darfur attracted worldwide attention around 2003, when a rebel group took on the Sudanese government, alleging that it discriminated against non-Arabs. Led by then-President Omar al-Bashir, the government responded by supporting a group of militias known as the Janjaweed, which looted and burned villages, polluted water sources, and murdered, tortured and raped civilians. The conflict in Darfur claimed more than 300,000 lives. Residents around Darfur recently reported…