ADF

In West Africa, Côte d’Ivoire is viewed as a bastion of stability with a strong track record of economic development. Experts believe that is why Russian disinformation operations in junta-led countries of the Sahel have targeted their coastal neighbor’s democratic process. In August, several social media accounts with tens of thousands of followers spread false reports of violent unrest in the capital, Abidjan, during peaceful protests against President Alassane Ouattara’s reelection bid. The accounts “attempted to show there had been an insurrection to incite unrest,” Côte d’Ivoire’s National Agency for Information System Security said. “According to our investigations, the accounts…

South African authorities have launched an investigation to determine how locally made technology turned up in kamikaze drones deployed by Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian troops discovered the laser range-finding equipment produced by South Africa’s LightWare Optoelectronics after they recovered a downed Garpiya-A1 kamikaze drone. Ukrainian authorities said the technology could be used to gauge distance to a target and trigger drones to detonate. Russia has used Garpiya-A1 drones to target Ukraine’s infrastructure. The drones are a hodgepodge of internationally sourced technology, with engines from China and parts from other countries. The fixed-wing drone is modeled on the…

The Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin terror group declared in September that it would stop any fuel tanker entering Mali from neighboring countries. Since then, hundreds of trucks from Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal have been attacked and burned in Mali, sometimes as they were escorted by Malian military forces. Malian truck drivers often die in attacks by the terrorist group, also known as JNIM, which is linked to al-Qaida. Truck driver Bablen Sacko said he has witnessed these attacks and narrowly escaped death. “Apprentices died right behind us,” Sacko told Agence France-Presse. “Everyone has a role in building the country. Ours is…

The target was a small, flagless motor vessel called the Mashallah that had been under the watch of international drug enforcement agencies. It had repeatedly evaded prior attempts at interception in the western Indian Ocean. On October 23, about 630 kilometers off the coast of Mombasa, 15 Kenyan Marine commandos launched in small boats from Navy patrol ship Shupavu and successfully carried out a visit, board, search and seizure operation. Two days later, after escorting the Mashallah to Mombasa port under armed guard, authorities unloaded 769 packets of methamphetamine totaling 1,024 kilograms, valued at $63 million. “This is a big…

Relentless Russian-backed propaganda portrays Burkina Faso as opening new factories and paying off its foreign debt. The reality is something entirely different: The majority of the country is beyond the government’s control as terrorists attempt to encircle the capital, Ouagadougou. Analysts estimate that extremists from Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP) control as much as 60% of Burkina Faso’s territory. The groups have expanded their grasp in the years following the 2022 rise of the junta headed by Capt. Ibrahim Traoré. After the coup that brought Traoré to power, Burkina Faso expelled France’s counterterrorism Operation…

Somali police officers trained in Turkey are fighting on the frontlines of the country’s war against al-Shabaab, leading counterterrorism and special operations units against the group that controls swaths of territory in central and southern Somalia. In mid-October, more than 300 members of Somalia’s national police force returned home after spending months of intensive counterterrorism, public safety and leadership training at the Turkish Police Academy in Ankara. The program is part of a bilateral deal aimed at refining Somalia’s internal security and fight against violent extremism. “This partnership reflects our shared commitment to a safer and more stable Somalia,” Brig. Gen. Ahmed…

Too often, maritime security takes a back seat to land-based concerns. It’s easy for the problems roiling the vast seas to remain out of sight and out of mind.  Many African countries are realizing they no longer can afford to take this position. The blue economy is an engine for growth, responsible for $300 billion in commerce and supporting 50 million jobs. Oceans are critical to food security with 200 million African people relying on seafood for part of their diet.  But this resource is under attack. Foreign trawlers take advantage of areas of weak enforcement to decimate fish stocks.…

Rear Adm. António Duarte Monteiro, chief of staff of the Cabo Verdean Armed Forces, spoke in Praia on May 5, 2025, during the opening ceremony of the 14th iteration of Obangame Express, a multinational maritime exercise involving nations along the Gulf of Guinea. Cabo Verde hosted the exercise for the first time. Monteiro’s remarks have been edited for space and clarity. Despite the progress made in recent years, the security challenges faced in the Gulf of Guinea and mid-Atlantic regions have become increasingly multifaceted and interconnected. In addition to the well-known threats — such as piracy; narcotics, arms and human…

Effective communication is key to the success of military training events such as Obangame Express, which builds cooperation to fight sea crimes such as illegal fishing, piracy and trafficking. Nearly 20 African nations from Cabo Verde to Namibia participated in the two-week exercise. The largest multinational maritime exercise in Western and Central Africa ended May 16, 2025. It included visit, board, search and seizure training in Senegal. Participants practiced tactical ship entries and learned search and evidence-handling procedures. Chief Petty Officer Mass Jallow of the Gambian Navy said the exercise benefited his team. “We come from different countries, different training…

The specters of terrorism, piracy and smuggling loomed as more than 1,000 participants from 20 nations trained to conduct multinational maritime security operations in the Western Indian Ocean during the 15th iteration of Exercise Cutlass Express. The East African exercise, sponsored by U.S. Africa Command and facilitated by the U.S. 6th Fleet, was held February 10-21, 2025, in Mauritius, the Seychelles and Tanzania. Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Mhona, chief of Training and Combat Readiness for the Tanzania People’s Defence Force, said the event emphasized the need for regional, continental and international collaboration. “When we talk about terrorism, human trafficking and cybercrime,…