ADF

ADF STAFF The name of terrorist group Boko Haram translates loosely to “Western education is forbidden.” A spate of attacks against schools in northern Cameroon shows the group is following through on this deadly pledge. Wedged between Nigeria to the west and Chad to the east, Cameroon’s Far North Region is on the front line of Boko Haram’s insurgency. It has seen a sharp spike in violence, with statistics showing about 400 incidents over the past year — a 90% increase over the previous year, according to an analysis by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies. Ousmanu Amadou Garga of…

ADF STAFF The Gambia made progress in its fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in November when authorities arrested four trawlers in waters reserved for local fishermen. The arrests were made with the help of Sea Shepherd Global. It was no surprise that the trawlers were Chinese, as the majority of vessels arrested through Sea Shepherd’s partnership with African nations are Chinese-owned or Chinese-flagged, Peter Hammarstedt, Sea Shepherd’s director of campaigns, told ADF in an email. China’s ability to have a global reach in fishing is due in large part to government subsidies. No other nation spends more…

ADF STAFF In recent weeks, the world has seen shocking images coming out of Ethiopia. Refugees streaming across the border into Sudan. Tanks preparing to shell strategic targets in Mekelle, the largest city in the country’s north. Regional forces vowing to fight the federal government to the bitter end. A nation on the brink of civil war. So, how did it come to this? As Africa’s second-most-populous nation and one of the largest troop contributors to peacekeeping missions around the world, Ethiopia has long been a pillar of stability. “Ethiopia is the anchor state of the Horn of Africa,” Murithi…

ADF STAFF Enraged that foreign trawlers continuously deprive them of food and income, artisanal fishermen in Ghana are using a new smartphone app to detect and report illegal fishing. More than 100 fishermen in Ghana are using the app called Dase, meaning “evidence” in Fante, a Ghanaian dialect. It was recently developed by the Environmental Justice Foundation, a nongovernmental organization that works to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in West Africa. Fisheries are vitally important to Ghana, where more than 100,000 fishermen and 11,000 canoes operate, according to Steve Trent, executive director of the foundation. The app is also…

ADF STAFF In the grips of crisis upon crisis, Sudan declared a three-month state of emergency in early September, as the country experienced its worst flooding in 30 years. Torrential rains and flash floods have affected more than 875,000 people and resulted in at least 150 deaths. Thousands of farms and tens of thousands of crops were destroyed at the peak of Sudan’s agricultural season, as thousands of families experienced greater food insecurity. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) pledged $60 million in humanitarian flood relief on October 30. “USAID will work with non-governmental organizations and international partners to…

ADF STAFF Isah Lankpene slept in the bush for two days as he and members of his Nigerian forestry task force monitored an illegal Chinese timber operation deep in the woods of Niger State. They raided and shut down the camp in early November. Lankpene’s team arrested the Chinese nationals who ran the company and were suspected of being in Nigeria illegally. The task force also found two standby generators, several machines used for cutting and refining timber, as well as containers and trucks used to transport wood to Lagos State, where it was shipped overseas. “The factory is located…

ADF STAFF A proposed port in Nigeria’s Rivers State is hailed as a one-of-its-kind project that will include processing facilities, warehouses and ship maintenance yards. Promoters say the $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion port will deal in large amounts of mackerel, herring, tuna and crustaceans, most of which will be exported. Critics say the Andoni Fishing Port and Processing Zone could attract more foreign trawlers to the Gulf of Guinea, a region already reeling from illegal fishing, overfishing, piracy and environmental damage. Port construction is expected to begin in 2021. The port’s harbor, processing facilities and warehouses should be running…

ADF STAFF In the villages known as aldeias in Mozambique’s far north province of Cabo Delgado, attacks come before dawn. Militants open fire at random and set homes ablaze. Those lucky enough to escape flee into dense forest or pile into boats to risk their lives at sea. Those who do not escape face a far worse fate. “They kidnap the women to violate them and force them into marriage,” Fatima, a woman whose village was attacked in July, told reliefweb. “The older men they kill. The young men are forced to join them [the militants].” Cabo Delgado is home…

ADF STAFF Mozambique has joined the growing list of African nations seeking — but rarely receiving — relief from their overwhelming debts held by Chinese lenders. “We have been working with our bilateral creditors. We are just waiting for the decision,” Adriano Maleiane, Mozambique’s minister of economy and finance, said during the World Bank’s annual meeting, held virtually in October. “So far, we have not received formal reaction from creditors. We assume they are doing their best.” Mozambique owes about $15 billion to foreign creditors, which is equal to about 100% of its gross domestic product. At least $2 billion…

ADF STAFF Malian Armed Forces drove armed extremists out of the tiny village of Farabougou, where the population had endured a two-week siege. The clash began about October 8, when terrorists kidnapped several villagers in the town of 2,000 and fought with local hunters. When heavy rains made it impossible for special forces to access central Mali by land, the nation’s Air Force flew them in. The Air Force also airlifted wounded civilians to a nearby town for medical treatment, Reuters reported. Observers say the terrorist threat still looms in the area. “The access roads to Farabougou are still blocked,…