ADF

The latest outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has spread with terrifying speed as hundreds of cases and dozens of deaths were reported in just one week in June. With more than 1,000 confirmed cases, the outbreak is now the second largest on record. The disease is concentrated primarily in the northeastern province of Ituri, and cases also have been found in North Kivu and South Kivu — all in the far reaches of eastern DRC, where terrorists and armed groups make the response to a health emergency even more challenging. But the DRC previously has…

The recent killings of a top Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) commander and three lieutenants in northeast Nigeria has left the group in organizational disarray amid ongoing battles with Nigerian forces and rival terror group Boko Haram. Troops with Nigeria’s Operation Hadin Kai and U.S. Africa Command, or AFRICOM, killed top commander Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, also known as Abu-Mainok, on May 16 in Borno State. Also killed were Mallam Haruna, Abu Huraira and Ba Yuram. The four terrorists were key operational, logistical and security operatives, Zagazola Makama, a counterinsurgency and security expert, wrote on X. Nigeria’s Chief of Defense Intelligence,…

Russian forces supporting Mali’s military junta have begun using kamikaze-style first-person-view (FPV) drones to attack rebel positions in the north of the country, mirroring the tactics Tuareg rebels and terrorists have used relentlessly to drive military forces from their bases in the region. The introduction of FPV attack drones comes after Africa Corps and the Malian military have suffered multiple defeats at the hands of the Tuareg-based Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) and its rival-turned-ally Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) across Mali’s northern provinces. The most significant of those defeats — the loss in April of Kidal after more than two…

Members of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continue to defect to the Sudanese Army, but the presence of RSF fighters in areas where they are accused of committing atrocities against civilians angers those who witnessed the carnage. In May, Ali “Al-Safna” Rizqallah, a former RSF commander who defected alongside other senior figures, was granted a military rank, the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported. Al-Safna played key roles in the battles of Kordofan and El-Fasher. The United Nations found that the 18-month siege on El-Fasher ended in a deadly spree that showed the “hallmarks of genocide.” Many locals believe the RSF…

The recent delivery of 48 armored vehicles to the Tunisian Army is expected to help the country’s military conduct security operations, joint and combined exercises and rapid response missions across the region. Official unveiled the high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles (Humvees)  during a June 4 ceremony at the El Aouina military base in Tunis, the capital. Humvees are often used to transport troops, conduct medical evacuations and perform combat patrols, and are known to be reliable in extremely harsh environments. They are expected to help combat smuggling and militant activities along the borders with Algeria and Libya. “These vehicles will enhance the operational capabilities…

In parts of the world such as Ukraine, Myanmar and Japan, the Chinese government has been accused of employing “two-faced diplomacy.” It’s a strategy of publicly pledging peace, economic cooperation and regional stability while aggressively positioning its military and taking actions that fuel violence. There are examples in Africa as well, where Beijing’s official stances are in direct contradiction with its actions. In Sudan’s civil war, China claims to seek peace as a potential mediator. But that position is starkly contrasted by the proliferation of weapons manufactured by its state-owned companies, which prolong the conflict by supplying both sides. Geopolitical…

New reporting sheds light on the painstaking intelligence collection, surveillance and cooperation that helped take out a top Islamic State group operative in Nigeria in May. Nigerian security analyst Zagazola Makama covered the events surrounding the May 16 joint Nigerian-United States mission in the Metele area of Borno State that resulted in the death of Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, second in command of IS globally. Through interviews with Nigerian security officials and on-the-ground sources, he was able to piece together a picture of how the terrorist was tracked and killed. Makama said the mission was months in the making and involved close…

Mexican drug cartels have expanded and are increasingly producing methamphetamine in Africa. This was highlighted in mid-May when Nigerian authorities arrested three Mexican nationals and six others at an industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory in Ogun State’s Abidagba forest. Officials seized chemicals and drugs worth $363 million. The arrests came amid warnings that Mexican cartels were funding continental terrorists, armed groups and criminal groups that help them produce and move the drugs. Analysts say these links are strengthening. Oluwole Ojewale, an organized crime expert with the Institute for Security Studies in Senegal, noted that the Nigerian bust occurred near Lagos, the Nigerian…

Morocco’s Benslimane industrial zone east of Casablanca is becoming a major hub for drone manufacturing, including homegrown technology and Türkiye’s Bayraktar unmanned aerial vehicles. In recent years, Morocco has poured money and talent into becoming a key player in the global drone market. Moroccan companies such as Aerodrive Engineering Services are carving out space in the market while French and Israeli drone manufacturers join their Turkish and British counterparts in Morocco. In 2025, Morocco granted licenses to 10 drone projects worth more than $260 million. The goal, National Defense Administration chief Abdellatif Loudiyi told Parliament, is to build a homegrown…

Decades after Mozambique’s Naparama fighters became famous during the country’s civil war, a new generation of fighters carrying the same name have emerged to confront the threat from Islamic State group terrorists in the country’s north. The original Naparama fighters were a regional militia that fought on the side of the government in the late 1980s and early 1990s during the Mozambican civil war. Naparama fighters followed a set of rules that included refusing to use firearms in favor of bladed weapons or bows and arrows. The modern Naparama militia emerged in November 2022 and has embraced many of the…