ADF

Senegal has graduated its first civilian aeronautical maintenance technicians trained by the Air Force School to boost the country’s aviation industry, enhance the defense sector and improve self-sufficiency. The first 29 aeronautical maintenance technicians received diplomas in January 2025 during a ceremony in Thiès. The graduation is the result of what is being called a historic public-private partnership designed to increase Senegal’s domestic capacity to repair aircraft and build the planes of tomorrow. “It is the realization of a vision, that of preparing our youth for the challenges of the aeronautical sector and of permanently registering Senegal on the world…

Ghana is investing in maritime security to support its growing blue economy and protect maritime resources. In early 2025, Ghana commissioned a forward operating base (FOB) in Ezinlibo, in the western region, and received a Japanese-made ship, the 65-meter GNS Achimota, at the Sekondi Naval Base. The Ezinlibo FOB is now the country’s largest naval station and is expected to provide logistical support and personnel accommodation while supporting the Ghana Navy’s efforts to combat illegal fishing, piracy and other security threats in the Gulf of Guinea. The Ezinlibo base joins a network of FOBs across the country, including those at…

In a sweeping operation that covered multiple East African countries, Afripol announced the arrest of 37 terrorism suspects and the destruction of weapons, including a missile and antitank armaments. The operation in November and December 2024 netted members of the Islamic State group (IS) and al-Shabaab, along with other foreign fighters. Working with Interpol, Afripol authorities made arrests in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Somalia and Tanzania. In the DRC, police arrested four alleged members of the Allied Democratic Forces and two associates. They also captured and destroyed a missile and antitank device abandoned by terrorists. In Kenya,…

There have been fierce, powerful armies throughout the history of Africa, but few were ever so spectacular as the Horsemen of Oyo. The Kingdom of Oyo had its start in about 1300 A.D., in what are today southern Benin and western Nigeria. Oyo quickly became a trans-Saharan trade center. The Yoruba people traded in salt, leather, kola nuts, ivory, cloth and slaves. Oyo’s climate in the savannah region north of the tropical forests made it relatively free from tsetse fly infestation, which in turn made it easier to raise healthy animals. The excellence of Oyo’s horses made them their most…

CLUES The pristine site sprawls across almost 3,000 square kilometers and includes streams and waterfalls. Its aquatic habitats are home to freshwater fish species, 13 of which are threatened. The site combines large areas of intact forests and undisturbed river ecosystems. The land is considered one of the world’s most irreplaceable protected areas for its conservation of mammals, birds and amphibians. ANSWER  Ivindo National Park, Gabon 

As India builds greater ties with Africa, the Indian Navy is playing a significant role in establishing maritime security partnerships. It works to combat Somali piracy, as well as illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, drug trafficking, and other sea crimes in the western Indian Ocean region, including the Gulf of Aden, Mozambique Channel and the Red Sea. As part of its “Security and Growth for All in the Region” (SAGAR) policy, India has trained African maritime and military personnel at Indian institutes and enhanced information-sharing to develop maritime domain awareness through regional information fusion centers and maritime coordination centers. These…

Gabon has signed a memorandum of understanding with Global Fishing Watch, a nonprofit organization, that aims to enhance the West African country’s ability to monitor, control and surveil its waters by leveraging satellite technology and data analytics. This will support Gabon’s efforts to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, particularly in the country’s exclusive economic zone, where intrusions by foreign vessels have been a challenge for decades. Gabon signed the memorandum and an agreement with Global Fishing Watch partner Trygg Mat Tracking on June 25. “Gabon has chosen transparency, control and compliance with international standards,” Laurence Mengue-Me-Nzoghe Ndong, Gabon’s minister…

Across the vast expanses of rural Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, residents feel little influence from their central governments. That void has opened the way for the terrorist group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin to spread its own influence by fulfilling local security needs while imposing strict Islamic law known as Shariah. The organization, also known as JNIM, is an umbrella group comprising four insurgent groups aligned with al-Qaida. Since taking shape in Mali in 2017, JNIM has spread to Burkina Faso and Niger. Along the way, the organization has worked to recruit members of marginalized groups such as Fulani herders…

The Nigerian Armed Forces expects to host chiefs of defense from all 54 African nations at a summit in Abuja in August with the task of developing homegrown solutions to the continent’s security issues. The invitation list includes Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, which broke away from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) at the beginning of this year to form their own regional group. The military juntas ruling those countries have pledged to work together to combat the terrorist groups that stymied their democratically elected predecessors. The head of the summit planning group, Air Vice Marshal Precious…

Islamic State-Mozambique is one of many terrorist groups in Africa using child abduction as a weapon of war. The United Nations and several civil society groups in Mozambique say the terrorists, known as ISM, have targeted children in a wave of kidnappings in recent months, which has coincided with an increase in attacks in Cabo Delgado province in the northern part of the country. “The surge in abductions of children in Cabo Delgado adds to the horrors of Mozambique’s conflict,” Ashwanee Budoo-Scholtz, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), said in a statement on June 24. In May and…