ADF

ADF STAFF Members of the Seychelles People’s Defence Force Tazar Special Forces boarded a ship, single file, with their guns drawn. “So, now we have the two security guys come up,” a U.S. Coast Guard instructor said. “Right here, this door here is called the ‘fatal front.’” A Tazar member entered the door carefully and swept his gun to the right. “All clear? All right,” said the instructor, as more Tazar members entered the ship’s cabin. It was the first week of Cutlass Express 2022, an annual 12-day exercise sponsored by U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and led by U.S. Naval…

ADF STAFF In the Bamanga forest of northern Cameroon, the sound of axes biting into tree trunks has become a part of everyday life. The axes are often wielded by local poachers or by those crossing the border from Nigeria. Their target: rosewood trees. Africa’s rosewood trees, also known as kosso, are a prized resource for Chinese makers of luxury furniture. Environmental activists say China’s lust for rosewood lumber drives a black market that is corrupting government officials and tribal leaders, undercutting international protections, and devastating the environment. According to Raphael Edou, Benin’s former minister for environment, rosewood poaching in…

ADF STAFF As a crowd of more than 1,000 people gathered in Ouagadougou’s national square after the announcement of a military coup, there was an unusual sight: Russian flags being waved in celebration. West Africa’s third coup in eight months has raised alarm among experts who see a pattern: Wherever there is instability, Russia appears ready to exploit it. “It’s just a matter of time,” Nigerian journalist Philip Obaji Jr. told ADF. “From what I’ve been told by sources in the Burkinabe military, there is no Russian presence yet in the country, but that could change pretty soon.” Sahelian terrorists…

ADF STAFF African Air Force leaders came away with a spirit of cooperation and a greater understanding of other countries’ capabilities after attending the 11th annual African Air Chiefs Symposium (AACS). Thirty-two air chiefs and senior officials attended the five-day-event that ended January 28 in Kigali, Rwanda. The Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) and U.S. Air Forces Africa co-hosted the event. The theme of the symposium was “strategic airlift,” which is particularly relevant as countries look for ways to transport troops, equipment and humanitarian assistance to the places where they are needed most. “Strategic airlift is critical to our operations both…

ADF STAFF The attackers came in six wooden canoes. One with a small motor towed the rest. In the fading light of dusk, they reached Matemo Island just off the coast of northern Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province. The attackers killed at least two villagers, burned down dozens of homes, and looted shops for food and medicine throughout the night of February 1. Well aware that the closest military position was about 10 kilometers south in the district capital, Ibo Island, they shouted at each other to “do it quickly before the pigs [the military] and their helpers arrive,” according to…

ADF STAFF Joseph Fofana, a 36-year-old fisherman in Sierra Leone, recalled a time when he could see large fish breaking the water from the docks at Tombo, a coastal fishing village. Those days are long past. According to Fofana and other fishermen interviewed by The Guardian newspaper, a steep decline in fish stocks has left the nets of local fishermen as empty as their stomachs and wallets. Fofana earns about 50,000 leone (less than $4.50) for working 14-hour days at sea. “This is the only job we can do,” Fofana told The Guardian. “It’s not my choice. God carried me…

ADF STAFF China is promoting its traditional medicine to African consumers, a situation that critics say is increasing pressure on wildlife already threatened by high demand in Asia. The growth in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in Africa runs parallel with the growth in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The Belt and Road TCM Development Plan calls for building TCM centers worldwide. In recent years, Chinese TCM producers have begun setting up manufacturing operations in Africa to get around export restrictions on some animal parts, according to a report by London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). Expanding TCM in Africa increases…

ADF STAFF As debts mount in many African countries, civil society groups are calling for greater transparency so citizens can track exactly how public money is spent. One example of this is Kenya, where authorities are refusing to reveal the conditions of the Chinese loan that funded the country’s $4.7 billion Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) between Mombasa and Naivasha. They say confidentiality clauses block them from making loan details public. That answer was insufficient for civil society advocates Khelef Khalifa and Wanjiru Gikonyo, who sued the government to get access to all railway project documents through the country’s Access to…

ADF STAFF It’s impossible to say how many lives might have been saved when five people connected to a branch of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) were arrested last year in Ghana, Senegal and Tanzania. The five were recruited by the Quds Force, an IRGC arm, which has a growing presence on the continent. The people were suspected of planning attacks against businesspeople and tourists on safari. Authorities reported the arrests in November, although it was unclear when the arrests were made. It was the second time in 2021 that Iranian terror plots were thwarted in Africa with help…

ADF STAFF A three-month investigation by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) has found that 90% of fishing vessels operating in Ghana are owned by Chinese companies. The EJF, a nongovernmental organization that tracks environmental issues, blames the depletion of fish stocks in Ghana on Chinese trawlers, the owners of which use complex schemes to create front companies in the country. The EJF based its investigation on interviews with fisheries experts and analyzing company records and financial documents. Ghana’s small pelagic fish populations, such as sardinella, have dropped 80% in the past two decades. One species, sardinella aurita, is fully collapsed.…