ADF

Now in its third year, civil war in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has changed from one dominated by ground forces and heavy weapons to a tit-for-tat aerial war with unmanned drones as the chief weapons. Starting in January, the national Sudanese forces, known as the SAF, used Turkish-made Bayraktar TB-2 drones to attack rebel RSF positions and supply lines in the capital region and al-Gezira state to the southeast. The assault ultimately drove RSF fighters from both locations, giving the army major victories that pushed the RSF back into its stronghold…

Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, South Africa and Tanzania lost up to $142.8 million annually between 2015 and 2021 to illegal fishing of shrimp and tuna, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Other catch taken from these waters include at least 56 species of sharks and rays and a variety of reef fish. The nature of the crime means the actual amount of money lost to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is likely far higher. Many IUU fishing vessels in the region are from China, which commands the world’s largest distant-water fishing fleet and is the…

With more than 100 armed groups operating in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the region is one of the world’s worst conflict zones. The M23 rebel offensive, launched in late January, further ratcheted up the violence and chaos. As M23 rapidly expanded its territory to the north and south of the regional capital, Goma, it drew more attention from the Congolese military (FARDC) and allied militias, which may have given the region’s Islamic State affiliate more space to launch attacks. “Even by conservative fatality estimates, the first quarter of this year was the most fatal since 2002, when the…

Social media has become a key communication tool for terrorist groups across Africa, presenting governments with a challenge: how to restrict terrorist propaganda while protecting free expression. The rapid spread of the internet across Africa has become a hodgepodge of national, regional and continental regulations that cause confusion, particularly when governments call on social media companies to shut down channels with ties to terrorist organizations such as al-Shabaab in Somalia or Boko Haram in Nigeria. “A key challenge is that the lack of clarity on what constitutes ‘terrorist online content’ and what measures should be taken by relevant stakeholders can…

The South African National Defense Force faces a R41.2 billion (more than $2.3 million) budgetary shortfall that limits every operational, technological and human resource decision its leaders make. According to Angie Motshekga, South Africa’s minister of defense and military veterans, better funding could have allowed the defense force, also known as SANDF, to handle alone the recent repatriation of troops who were deployed to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as part of the Southern African Development Community Mission in the DRC. The United Nations assisted in the repatriation. South African Soldiers accounted for 14 of the 20 mission Soldiers killed…

For decades, Russia has used vast, shadowy networks to prey on fears about pandemics and diseases like mpox, Marburg, Ebola and malaria. The goal is to undermine public trust in health care and fan the flames of instability, racism and division. Africa, with its young population and rapidly growing use of social media, presents an inviting target for Russian-spun campaigns of false information and propaganda. To this end, the Kremlin launched the African Initiative, an online news outlet with strong ties to the Wagner mercenary group. “There are indications that the African Initiative is probing public health as something amenable…

About 80% of the world’s oil trade moves through the Western Indian Ocean, which faces escalating maritime threats, including attacks on shipping; illicit trafficking; illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing; piracy; and terrorism. These challenges pose broader threats to regional and global security. Against this backdrop, the third annual Africa Maritime Forces Summit (AMFS) was held June 23-27 in Mauritius. The event attracted military and government leaders from 45 nations. “This summit is an opportunity for all the maritime forces, especially from Africa,” Mauritania Navy Master Chief Petty Officer El Kentoaui Mohamed said. “Thanks to this summit, we’ve had very…

Ghana’s fisheries sector directly and indirectly employs about 2.2 million people who process, sell, transport, wash and descale fish. However, 90% of Ghanaians surveyed by Harvard researchers said they do not believe their children will be able to depend on fishing or related trades in the future. Similar sentiments were expressed in Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria. This is mainly because Ghana and other West African nations have for decades been victimized by industrial fishing trawlers, many from China, which engage in a variety of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. China is the world’s worst illegal fishing offender, according to…

A Ukrainian drone in late April hit the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Russia’s Tatarstan region, where kamikaze drones are made by factory workers, many of them women from Africa. Although there were no reported casualties, several African women were wounded last year in a similar drone attack on the Alabuga factory, about 1,000 kilometers east of Moscow. African women working at the factory may not have realized they would be working in a war zone when they applied for their jobs. Many responded to social media ads promising employment with good pay and a new life in Russia. The…

As terror groups continue to launch attacks in the Sahel, some fear that the day will come when insurgents march into a capital city and topple the national government. This would follow a similar pattern that occurred in Syria and Afghanistan when state control collapsed virtually overnight. However, analysts at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) believe that the occupation of Bamako, Niamey or Ouagadougou by Sahel-based terrorists is unlikely in the short term. “They lack the firepower and logistical capabilities to sustain a prolonged siege and occupation of a major city,” wrote ISS analysts Djiby Sow and Hassane Koné.…