ADF

Authorities arrested 1,209 cybercriminals and recovered $97.4 million in a major crackdown involving investigators from 18 African countries, the United Kingdom and Interpol. The operation, named Serengeti 2.0, ran from June to August 2025 and tackled high-impact cybercrimes such as business email compromise schemes, ransomware and other online scams, Interpol reported. Authorities identified about 88,000 victims of fraud and illegal cryptocurrency networks and dismantled 11,432 malicious infrastructures. Before the operation, investigators participated in workshops that covered open-source intelligence tools and techniques, cryptocurrency investigations, and ransomware analysis, according to Interpol. This training is credited with contributing to the effectiveness and success…

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) plans to activate a 260,000-troop rapid deployment counterterrorism brigade to help fight terrorism in the subregion. “This bold initiative has become necessary given the asymmetric security dynamics in our region,” said Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security. He spoke for Commission President Dr. Omar Touray at the inaugural African Chiefs of Defence Staff Summit in Abuja, Nigeria, in August 2025. “We are conscious of the fact that this requires the necessary financial resources and capabilities to make it a reality. ECOWAS is therefore throwing the gauntlet to bilateral…

As terrorist groups continue to expand beyond the Sahel, countries throughout West Africa are emphasizing the importance of logistical cooperation to rapidly deploy and support troops. The growing threat of al-Qaida and Islamic State group affiliates loomed over the 2025 West Africa Logistics Conference co-hosted by United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) and the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) in the capital, Monrovia, in August 2025. More than 90 participants from 22 nations and organizations attended, including most West African countries and representatives from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). “This conference could not have come at a better…

During the 2026 African Air Chiefs Symposium (AACS), more than 30 military leaders discussed ways to harmonize efforts to counter insurgencies and strengthen humanitarian assistance and disaster response. Throughout the event, the chiefs discussed enhancing regional security and interoperability and worked to draft a seven-year plan for the Association of African Air Forces (AAAF). The three-day symposium, which was jointly organized by the Tunisian Air Force and the United States Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa, ended May 15. Co-hosted by Nigeria, the 15th AACS included a tour of the Tunisian Air Force’s Noncommissioned Officer School and an air power…

A United Nations official warned that corruption and organized crime drive violence and terrorism in Nigeria as he introduced a five-year plan to bolster the nation’s criminal justice system, rule of law and judicial access. Cheikh Toure, Nigeria’s country representative for the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), addressed journalists at the launch of the UNODC Nigeria Country Programme 2026-2030 on March 24, 2026, in Abuja. “Criminal networks are becoming more sophisticated. Technology is reshaping both opportunities and risks, and globally, we are witnessing shifts in how illicit activities are financed,” Toure told journalists, according to the state-owned News…

Niger’s southwestern Tillaberi and Dosso regions have become host to the latest turf war between Sahelian terror groups Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and the Islamic State Sahel Province (IS Sahel). In recent weeks, the two groups have attacked each other repeatedly as each seeks to establish dominance over the corner of Niger that borders Benin to the south and northwest Nigeria to the east. “The rivalry between the two groups is both ideological and territorial,” Héni Nsaibia, senior researcher for West Africa at the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) project, told The Africa Report. Although JNIM remains…

The red triangular signs point downward and warn civilians to stay away with a skull and crossbones above the words DANGER MINES. They are a familiar sight in Khartoum, the shattered capital of war-torn Sudan. As one of the biggest early battlefields in a civil war that broke out more than three years ago, Khartoum was ravaged and occupied by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia before the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) retook the city in March 2025. Since then, more than 1.8 million of the 9 million residents of the greater Khartoum metropolitan area have returned to face the…

New reporting on Colombian mercenaries in Sudan’s civil war shows how outside forces have prolonged the conflict and eroded regional stability. With the help of a Libyan militia called the Subul al-Salam Battalion, Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group used southern Libya as a transit corridor, support base and rear operations center in its war against the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). The Subul al-Salam Battalion, which is associated with the Libyan National Army, facilitated the transfer of recruits, including Colombian mercenaries, weapons and fuel across the border to support the RSF, according to an April 19 report by a…

Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Somalia’s al-Shabaab terrorist group are separated by the narrow Gulf of Aden. Their emerging collaboration to exchange intelligence, weapons and technical expertise presents a threat to East Africa and its maritime zone. It’s a relationship that is evolving in dangerous ways, according to former Somali national security advisor Hussein Sheikh-Ali, who now leads the Saldhig Institute, a Mogadishu-based research organization. Al-Shabaab already was al-Qaida’s best-funded and deadliest affiliate. Now with Houthi assistance, it has access to advanced technology and training. “Al-Shabaab members have received training in Yemen on drones and explosives; Houthi personnel have visited al-Shabaab’s…

Publicly accessible data shows that four Chinese fishing trawlers were not fined for apparent illegal fishing and transshipments at sea near South Africa after being detained by authorities in early March. The Zhong Yang 231, Zhong Yang 232, Zhong Yang 233 and Zhong Yang 239 initially were found operating illegally inside South Africa’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and territorial waters without permits. Owned by Shenzhen Shuiwan Pelagic Fisheries, the vessels were fined 400,000 rand (about $24,000) for violating their conditions of passage through South African waters. “Based on the available evidence, there were reasonable grounds to suspect non-compliance with the Marine Living…