ADF

Nearly 40 people died in the early hours of July 27 when terrorists from the Islamic State-Central African Province attacked a Catholic church in Komanda in the Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The attack was the latest episode of brutal violence by the group also known as the Allied Democratic Forces. As the government of the DRC attempts to make peace with M23 rebels in the eastern part of the country, Islamic State-Central African Province (IS-CAP) has increased its attacks against civilian targets across the region. As in Komanda, those attacks often target unarmed civilians gathered…

After extensive discussion during the African Chiefs of Defense Conference in Nairobi in May strengthening security partnerships and facing shared threats, Kenya and its co-host, the United States Africa Command, have set about putting words into action. Kenya Defence Force chief Gen. Charles M. Kahariri and then-commander of AFRICOM Gen. Michael Langley issued a joint statement at AFRICOM headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, on August 14, calling on African countries to coordinate efforts. “We can revitalize multilateralism, working to overcome increasing distrust amongst member states, geopolitical tensions and the risk of group indecision,” the statement read. “No one country can address…

Authorities arrested six people in South Africa on August 19 in connection with an international rhinoceros horn trafficking network. They made the arrests after a seven-year investigation by the Hawks, the South African Police Service branch that specializes in fighting organized crime. The suspects are accused of smuggling 964 horns worth $14.1 million to illegal markets in Southeast Asia. They face charges of fraud, theft and violating a national biodiversity law. Authorities made the arrests days after a Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime report highlighted East and Southern Africa as a pivotal node for organized crime — including the smuggling and…

Mauritania signed a 25-year fishing agreement with China in June 2010. After 15 years of overfishing by Beijing’s industrial trawlers, artisanal fishermen in Mauritania now struggle to fill their nets due to depleted fish stocks and the proliferation of factories making fishmeal and fish oil. Ould Sidi, whose family has fished the waters for generations, said local fishermen once operated close to shore but are now forced to venture farther out to sea, making an already-dangerous occupation more perilous and expensive. “I was born into a family where fishing is the only income-generating activity we practice,” Sidi, a pseudonym, told…

One year after the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) declared mpox a continental emergency, countries have strengthened their responses and are reporting progress in controlling the disease. Coordinated action among governments, the Africa CDC, the World Health Organization (WHO), communities and partners has helped improve disease surveillance, expand laboratory testing, mobilize vaccination drives and improve treatment for people with mpox. The disease is similar to smallpox and is caused by a virus. It causes flu-like symptoms such as fever and chills, and a rash that can take weeks to clear. “We have seen a clear downward…

In the cattle markets of northern Ghana, butchers and brokers have decades of experience buying cattle from herders in Burkina Faso. Lately, the people selling livestock have been looking for quick sales and taking unusually low payments, a likely sign that the cattle are stolen. “In the past, there was sometimes stolen livestock in the market,” a butcher identified by the pseudonym Endinene told The New Humanitarian. “But it was small amounts, and not frequent. However, since the war began, everything has changed.” These days, Endinene estimates that half of the cattle he buys are stolen. The sellers accept half…

APT41 is a well-known cybercriminal syndicate with many aliases: Wicked Panda, Barium, Brass Typhoon and Winnti. The group is notorious for targeting organizations across multiple sectors, including telecom and energy providers, educational institutions, and health care organizations in at least 42 countries. Regardless of its name, the group is known to be a Chinese state-backed hacking operation with a decided focus on cyber espionage. In July, a cybersecurity company revealed that its detection and response experts “observed a cyber espionage attack on a Southern African organization and linked it to the Chinese-speaking group APT41.” “This incident reveals that the attackers…

Terrorists have killed more than 150,000 people across Africa over the past decade, with most of that violence taking place in the Sahel, Somalia, and the Lake Chad basin, according to new research by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies. Since 2016, when Somalia was the focal point for terrorist violence, the number of attacks, terrorist groups and regions affected have grown. Many of those groups claim allegiance to al-Qaida or the Islamic State group (IS). The death count escalated rapidly after coups in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. Those coups were driven to some degree by claims that the…

Cybercrime is a growing threat in Africa, accounting for nearly a third of all crime in some regions. And the scale and scope of attacks is rising. Hackers increasingly weaponize cyberattacks against corporations and public infrastructure, rather than simply stealing personal data from individuals. A recent report by Interpol concludes that cybercrimes make up 30% of all crime in West and East Africa, based on a survey of the international law enforcement agency’s African members. The survey determined that cybercrimes make up 10% to 30% of crimes in Southern and Central Africa and less than 10% in North Africa. “Cybersecurity…

The modern incarnation of fighters for hire in Africa, known as private military companies (PMCs), such as Russia’s Wagner Group, now the Africa Corps — trade security guarantees and counterterrorism pledges for money and natural resource concessions, especially in the Sahel. Now “a more decentralized and entrepreneurial phenomenon has emerged: the rise of jihadist private military contractors,” according to an article by Aries D. Russell for Aries Intelligence. “These are seasoned foreign fighters who offer tactical training, battlefield support, and operational consulting to extremist groups, sometimes for money, often for ideology.” Russell says that trained fighters and consultants are showing…