ADF

ADF STAFF People across Senegal have enjoyed thieboudienne, the national dish, since at least the 19th century. Made with stuffed fish, rice, vegetables and a variety of West African spices, the savory dish’s recipe has traveled across Sub-Saharan Africa. In Senegal, the preferred fish used in thieboudienne is white grouper. But overfishing led by China’s distant-water fishing (DWF) fleet has caused the population of the species to collapse. Senegalese nutritionist Codou Kébé said grouper’s collapse has led to the loss of a key protein for the nation’s residents. There aren’t many other species left to take grouper’s place, as 90%…

ADF STAFF Rub two objects together long enough, and you’ll eventually produce enough heat to start a fire. Such is the case with the violence that erupted on April 15 after years of political and personal friction between Sudan’s rival military leaders. The battles that began in Khartoum quickly spread to other sites across the country. The violence grew from years of conflict between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), loyal to Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary branch led by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti. Analysts fear the battle between the…

ADF STAFF A terror group’s campaign is more likely to escalate into a civil war when the state it operates in uses repressive tactics and when the group diversifies its attack strategies. Although about 70% of terror groups end their campaigns within a year of the first attack, some continue fighting for decades. A new report by researchers at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, American University and DeSales University described why some insurgencies spark wider conflict. The report was published in the journal “Dynamics of Asymmetrical Conflict.” “Violent repression helps terrorist groups convince moderate members to wage a rebellion,” the researchers wrote…

ADF STAFF Experts say an Islamic State group affiliate’s recent actions in northeast Mali signal that the group has entered a new phase and believes it is unchallenged by the military-led government. The extremists seized the northeast Malian town of Tidermene on April 10 without a fight. They gathered residents, distributed leaflets and told them to prepare to pay zakat, an Islamic tax. “Now they are trying to govern,” France 24 terrorism expert Wassim Nasr said during an April 13 broadcast. “They are the same leaflets that were distributed in Syria back in 2014, meaning that we are in a…

أسرة منبر الدفاع الإفريقي ضبطت البحرية الغينية أكثر من 1.5 طن من الكوكايين على متن سفينة صيد قبالة سواحل البلاد خلال عملية تفتيش أجرتها في مطلع نيسان/أبريل. كشف تقرير صادر عن مكتب الأمم المتحدة لمكافحة المخدرات والجريمة أن الضبطية تميط اللثام عن اتجاه سائد في غرب إفريقيا، وذلك بضبط ما لا يقل عن 57 طناً من الكوكايين في المنطقة أو في طريقها إليها بين عامي 2019 و2022. ونجحت السلطات خلال تلك الفترة في ضبط 16.6 طناً من الكوكايين في الرأس الأخضر و4.7 طناً في السنغال و3.9 طناً في بنين. واعتبر التقرير دول غرب إفريقيا (ومنها بنين وساحل العاج وغانا وغينيا…

ADF STAFF The Guinean Navy found more than 1.5 tons of cocaine on board a fishing vessel off the coast during an inspection in early April. The seizure illustrates a trend in West Africa, where at least 57 tons of cocaine were seized in or en route to the region between 2019 and 2022, according to a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Over that period, authorities seized 16.6 tons of cocaine in Cabo Verde, 4.7 tons in Senegal and 3.9 tons in Benin. The report labeled West African nations — including Benin, Côte d’Ivoire,…

ADF STAFF Who killed nine Chinese nationals at the Chimbolo gold mine in the Central African Republic (CAR)? The government of CAR President Faustin-Archange Touadéra has promised to investigate the murders at the mine owned by China’s Gold Coast Group, which was attacked by gunmen a few days after it opened in March. The government has blamed foreigners for the attack as part of a complicated plot involving Chadian mercenaries, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, and former CAR National Assembly President Karim Meckassoua, who fled the country in 2021. The rebel group Coalition of…

ADF STAFF The killing of nine Chinese nationals in March at a mine in the Central African Republic may prompt China to increase security at its worksites in Africa. If this occurs, it’s likely China will turn to private security companies (PSC), which have a checkered history on the continent. Experts say China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects, which employ tens of thousands of Chinese nationals and represent billions of dollars in infrastructure, could be high-profile targets for attacks by extremist groups. “In the last decade, China has recognized that sole reliance on the economic development of African countries…

ADF STAFF As Burkina Faso endures deadly attacks by extremist groups, the transitional government is enacting a controversial counterterror strategy that could put more civilians in harm’s way. Shortly after seizing power in September 2022, Burkina Faso’s military junta publicly campaigned to recruit citizens into the fight. Months later, eyewitnesses reported cases of forced recruitment. On April 13, the transition government announced its latest move, a “general mobilization.” Authorities issued an advisory giving junta leader Ibrahim Traoré “the right to requisition people, goods and services and the right to restrain certain civil liberties,” a security source told Agence France-Presse. A…

ADF STAFF After scoring key victories against Al-Shabaab in late 2022, Somalia has launched its second offensive against the extremist group with the goal of driving it out of the central and southern regions of the country. Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud announced the new offensive in late March. Somali Soldiers and their tribal allies will use the experience they gained during the first offensive to make the second round of operations even more successful, the president said. “We have more experience than when we first entered the war in Galmudug and Hirshabelle states,” Mohamud said this year as the…