ADF

ADF STAFF The increasing presence of Russia’s Wagner Group in Africa underlined the Kremlin’s continued efforts to exert its influence on the continent in 2021. The shadowy group of private military contractors garnered international headlines — and triggered global backlash — in September when Mali’s transitional military government sought a deal that would bring 1,000 of the Russian fighters and military instructors to the country at a cost of $10.8 million a month. The Russian government denies ties to the group. Observers were uneasy over the development, noting that Wagner has left a trail of instability across the continent. “We…

ADF STAFF Roughly 12.3 million people work in Africa’s fisheries and aquaculture sector, but their livelihoods are compromised by rules that favor large foreign fleets. According to an analysis published by The Conversation Africa, many coastal countries have enacted regulations that allow foreign distant-water fishing (DWF) fleets to fish in areas where fish stocks are in steep decline. Many DWF fleets engage in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. In West Africa, long targeted by China’s DWF fleet, it’s estimated that IUU fishing hauls in a catch equal to 40% to 65% of the size of the legally reported catch.…

ADF STAFF As the new year arrives, security experts are closely watching certain conflict hot spots and tracking long-term trends that threaten to boil over. Recurring issues in Africa include demands for free and fair elections, debate over how to regulate online speech, ensuring equitable access to water and how to end peacekeeping missions. None of these issues will go away or be resolved in the next year, but preparation and early action can help avoid crises. Democratic Transitions Elections are times of heightened tension, and political passion can spill over into street protests or even violence. In 2022, Africa…

BY CYRIL ZENDA A ruthless and shadowy insurgent group has taken root in northern Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province. The Islamic State-aligned militants, known as Ansar al-Sunna — “supporters of the tradition” — emerged in October 2017 and have fomented violence that had killed more than 2,500 and displaced more than 700,000 as of mid-March 2021. Cabo Delgado, located on Mozambique’s northern border with Tanzania, is home to about 2.3 million people, 60% of whom are Muslims. Locals know it as “Cabo Esquecido,” or “Forgotten Cape.” Since 2019, the Mozambican government has employed private military companies (PMCs) to help battle the…

ADF STAFF United States and Moroccan forces met to plan for the June 2021 African Lion exercise, which brought together more than 7,000 troops from Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, the U.S. and elsewhere. Planners considered this hill in Agadir, Morocco, for small-weapons training. Hundreds of other planners worked virtually to set goals and COVID-19 protocols. Established in 2002, African Lion is U.S. Africa Command’s largest exercise and helps build cooperation, strengthen relationships, and increase readiness to counter security challenges in North Africa and Southern Europe.

ADF STAFF In Madagascar, a webpage in the Malagasy language shows a cartoon of a Russian bear awakening from hibernation to save Africa from hyenas.  In Libya, an Arabic language website hails Saif al-Islam, son of the late dictator Moammar Gadhafi, as the country’s savior.  In the Central African Republic, a site in French celebrates the visit of Miss Russia to the country to judge a beauty pageant.  All of these websites share a characteristic: Russian operatives created them as part of a wide-ranging influence campaign in Africa. In a study by the Stanford Internet Observatory, analysts reviewed 73 Facebook…

Photos by MINUSCA Lt. Gen. Daniel Sidiki Traoré was appointed force commander of MINUSCA in January 2020 after serving as deputy force commander for two years. A native of Burkina Faso, he joined the country’s National Armed Forces in 1977 and served in roles including commander of the 6th Military Region, commander of the 2nd Military Region, head of the Operations Department in the general headquarters, head of the Intelligence Department, head of the Human Resources Department and special advisor to the chief of defense staff. He has served in United Nations peacekeeping missions in the Democratic Republic of the…

ADF STAFF In late 2019, as a fierce battle raged in Libya to save the southern suburbs of Tripoli, medics treating the wounded began to notice something unusual. They were finding bullet holes but no exit wounds.  Instead, what they found in the wounded were hollow-point bullets as long as a finger. Few of the people who were shot survived. The ammunition was a deadly calling card of Russian mercenary snipers who had entered the fight on the side of militias commanded by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.  Their motive was profit and, according to Soldiers fighting on behalf of Libya’s…

ADF STAFF Russian mercenaries have been linked to human rights abuses and have tried to profit off the chaos in the Central African Republic (CAR), one of the poorest countries in the world despite vast natural resources. In March 2021, United Nations-appointed independent-rights experts alleged that the CAR’s recruitment and use of “private military and foreign security contractors” from Russia and Sudan were raising the risks of widespread human rights abuses. At the same time, the country’s president was using Russian mercenaries as his personal bodyguards. Russian mercenaries had contacts with some of the 15,000 peacekeepers involved with the U.N.…

ADF STAFF Conflict among oil, gas and mining companies and the people who live nearby is nothing new.  In the Gulf of Guinea, artisanal fishermen follow their catch close to oil platforms, putting them at risk of injury. In West and Southern Africa, small-scale miners compete for deposits with giant multinational companies. Disputes sometimes end in bloodshed. And throughout the world, citizens voice anger that large corporations encroach on their land, pollute it and profit while they receive little in return.   To protect their operations, the extractive industry often turns to private security companies (PSCs). These companies vary widely…