ADF

Battles between rival terror groups in the Lake Chad basin are causing residents to flee and stirring panic in surrounding communities and countries. Local residents and security experts say Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) are fighting more for control of the region and its critical trade corridors than for ideological reasons. A bloody clash between the groups in early November on a Lake Chad island community in Borno State, Nigeria, exemplified the rivalry’s growing intensity. Security analyst Zagazola Makama told Nigeria’s Tell magazine that Boko Haram executed a coordinated nighttime assault, overrunning ISWAP camps, seizing…

Among the civilians fleeing violence in Mali, many tell stories about “the white men” — the mercenary fighters working for Russia’s Africa Corps who continue to rape and kill civilians with impunity. The family of a 14-year-old girl who sought refuge in Mauritania told the Associated Press (AP) at the border crossing that Russian fighters had entered the family’s tent, beheaded the girl’s uncle, forced everyone else to leave, then raped her. The girl turned up days later with her remaining family at the Mauritanian border critically ill from the attack. “We were so scared that we were not even…

Nigeria is getting closer to adopting a new disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) program that aims to rehabilitate former combatants and reconnect them with society. The new program’s framework was developed with a focus on victims, communities and survivors of terrorism. During a late November workshop in Abuja, Maj. Gen. Adamu Laka, national coordinator of the National Counter-Terrorism Center (NCTC), described the proposed policy, meant to end recurring cycles of conflict and rebuild trust among affected populations, as “one of Nigeria’s most people-centered peacebuilding tools in recent years,” the state-run News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported. The updated framework is…

Nigerian authorities killed more than 200 bandits in early January during an attack on a camp in central Kogi State. The region has become a new focal point in the government’s campaign to rein in three security threats: banditry, Islamic terrorism and separatist campaigns. The action in Kogi State demonstrates how banditry has begun to spread into the heart of the country, bringing with it mass kidnappings and school attacks that have inflamed public opinion in the past. In November, a criminal gang abducted more than 300 students and teachers from a boarding school in Papiri in Niger State. The…

February 18 will mark one year since Zambia was hit by one of the worst environmental disasters in its history. But for activists like Nsama Kearns, the fight to fix the damage is only getting started. At least 51 million liters of toxic waste poured from a Chinese-owned copper mine into the Mwambashi stream that day, and officials reported signs of pollution more than 100 kilometers downstream on the Kafue, Zambia’s longest river and a primary source of drinking water for much of the country. Independent experts hired by the government shared their findings of the spill’s impact at a…

Tunisia has received counterterrorism equipment worth $1.4 million from the United States government, a move thatbolsters the countries’ security partnership. The items were delivered in mid-December under the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program (ATA), which provides counterterrorism training and equipment grants to law enforcement, helps partners address security challenges, defend against threats to national and regional stability, and deters terrorist operations. The U.S. Embassy in Tunisia did not specify the exact nature of the equipment. “The enduring US-Tunisia security partnership strengthens the safety and security of both countries and advances regional stability,” the embassy said. In 2025, Tunisia received two 34-meter,…

As 2025 ended, military leaders deposed elected governments in Guinea-Bissau and Madagascar. A putsch attempt in Benin failed after regional security forces and the Nigerian Air Force intervened. Those coups and the Benin attempt came after a series of military coups in Burkina Faso, Chad, Gabon, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Sudan. A 2024 attempt failed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Analysts say Africa appears to be living through a coup epidemic as 11 countries have experienced military takeovers since 2020, driven largely by discontent with economic insecurity and political instability. “Many African governments, whether they are democratic or…

Since the beginning of 2025, Nigerian authorities have arrested hundreds of Chinese nationals in connection with cybercrime syndicates operating in the country. In August, 60 Chinese nationals were among more than 100 people deported by Nigeria after their convictions on cyber terrorism and internet fraud charges. Most of those convicted were running online romance scams aimed at persuading their victims to invest in a fake cryptocurrency, according to Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC). “The fight against cybercrime is being pursued with renewed intensity, and we are working with global partners to ensure these networks are dismantled,” the EFCC…

Shortly after Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) terrorists imposed a Bamako fuel blockade in September 2025, Mali’s junta leader chose a senior National Guard officer to lead the fight against the group. Gen. Assimi Goïta appointed Brig. Gen. Famouké Camara, 47, to head the autonomous Operation Fuka Kènè, which means “clearing” in Bambara. It is the centerpiece of Goïta’s strategy to win the so-called fuel war, according to The Africa Report magazine. Camara integrates military strategy and logistics to improve convoy protection, which aligns with Mali’s military-first counterterrorism approach, the magazine reports. His appointment also marks a shift toward unified…

Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan was serving as an election observer in Guinea-Bissau when a group of military leaders declared a coup — the latest upheaval in the West African country’s tumultuous history. Shortly after soldiers appeared on the streets of the capital, Bissau, and gunfire rang out around his residence on November 26, 2025, President Umaro Sissoco Embaló told media outlets that he had been deposed. Jonathan was among many who questioned the timing of staging an uprising the day before election results were to be announced. “This was not even a palace coup,” he told reporters. “It was…