ADF

In a propaganda video entitled “Empowerment Generation,” terrorists with Islamic State West Africa Province show scenes from a training camp in northeastern Nigeria. The video includes aerial views filmed using off-the-shelf quadcopter drones. Unmanned aerial systems (UAS), known as drones, have become indispensable tools for government troops and terrorist groups across Africa due to their low cost, ease of operation and payload flexibility. Although terrorist groups are increasingly weaponizing drones in kamikaze-style attacks against enemy targets, they also are using them to create propaganda videos for recruitment. Rather than dive-bomb a target, some drones hover above the battlefield, capturing footage…

The Chinese term fei chien, which translates to “flying money,” refers to an underground financial system with no paper trail that dates back to the Tang dynasty in the ninth century, when traders established a network to settle accounts without carrying coins over long distances. The ancient Chinese scheme still exists today. Experts say it is the primary method of laundering immense amounts of cash linked to wildlife trafficking and the smuggling of illicit minerals and other natural resources. Traditional Chinese medicine is a leading driver of the illicit wildlife trade worldwide. “Flying money is often used to denote Chinese…

Malian journalist Seydou Oumar Traoré on May 26 was arrested for criticizing Guinea’s transitional president, Gen. Mamady Doumbouya, marking a continuing trend of jailing Malian critics of regional juntas. Traoré, who had just returned from an official mission to Kidal as part of the Malian Minister of Defense’s delegation, claimed in a viral social media video that Doumbouya had “betrayed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) by collaborating with Western countries to host terrorist bases on Guinean soil.” Traoré’s trial is scheduled to begin July 10, according to West Africa Democracy Radio. He has apologized to Doumbouya. His detention marked the second…

At more than 42,000 square kilometers, Niassa Special Reserve is the largest protected area in Mozambique and holds the most wildlife of anywhere in the country. In an area bigger than Switzerland, elephants, buffalo, wild dogs and one of the world’s seven largest lion populations roam freely. There are other dangerous predators. The Islamic State group in Mozambique (ISM), most active in neighboring Cabo Delgado province, has been known to retreat to the huge forested park. A recent spate of attacks in which ISM fighters killed at least 10 people has shaken to the core those who live and work…

Practitioners of galamsey, Ghana’s illegal small-scale mining epidemic, once used picks and shovels to extract gold and other minerals from the earth, but the industry is evolving and growing more violent. According to Ghanaian newspaper The Daily Graphic, some illegal miners now are allied with transnational crime networks, which helps them procure military-grade weapons, such as AK-47 rifles and drones, and excavators, industrial equipment and encrypted communication systems. Many illegal miners now operate out of fortified camps with trenches, watchtowers and armed patrols, turning galamsey into a more lethal vocation. Between 2020 and 2023, clashes with armed galamsey groups killed…

Ejiao is considered a miracle elixir for those who use it. However, it has become a disaster for Africa’s donkeys and the communities that rely on them. The Chinese demand for donkey skins and meat fuels a black market in several African countries. Those markets benefit transnational organized criminal groups, which rely on lax regulations, public corruption and porous borders to traffic in skins. Gelatin made by boiling donkey skins forms the basis for ejiao (pronounced “eh-gee-yow”), which users take as a treatment for anemia and other blood disorders. The demand for ejiao in China has decimated that nation’s donkey…

For years, nations have searched for ways to secure porous borders against traffickers moving arms, drugs and people from one country to another. A growing number of experts believe that artificial intelligence (AI) can help security professionals solve those problems. “The issue of artificial intelligence becomes very much fundamental, particularly in terms of risk management and in terms of enhancing effective border management,” South Africa’s Commissioner of Border Security Michael Masiapato said in a recent video statement. South Africa has joined Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan and Tunisia in deploying advanced technology, such as AI and drones, to enhance border security.  South…

When Angolan President João Lourenço visited New Delhi in early May, it marked a realignment of the country’s foreign policy priorities. After meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the two countries signed memoranda of understanding in areas such as medical, agricultural and cultural cooperation.  The agreements were viewed not only as a move by Angola toward India but also away from China.  “At the heart of Luanda’s growing partnership with New Delhi lies Angola’s strategic intent to hedge against its excessive dependence on China,” wrote Samir Bhattacharya, an associate fellow at Observer Research Foundation, or ORF, a nonpartisan, independent global…

Regardless of whether Awamo Mitterrand was tricked or coerced into enlisting in the Russian Army, he was sent to the front lines in Ukraine and killed in battle on February 26, his body abandoned by the Russians in a forest. CamerounWeb, a news site, published the report in March along with an editorial comment: “This is the umpteenth Cameroonian to die in the prime of life in the Russian army. This situation should be a wake-up call for young Cameroonians who decide to accept this poisoned opportunity.” A steady stream of posts have appeared on websites and social media platforms…

Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have begun using armed drones and roadside bombs as violence surges in northeast Nigeria. At least 22 people were killed and several others wounded in two attacks in Borno and Adamawa states over three days in late April. In Borno’s Gwoza area, militants killed 10 civilians a day after killing two members of the Civilian Joint Task Force. “They went to a nearby bush in search of firewood on Saturday when the boys [insurgents] ambushed them and killed ten and left two with life-threatening injuries,” said Mohammed Shehu Timta, the region’s…