ADF

Across Africa, so-called “ungoverned spaces” serve as breeding grounds for terrorist organizations as well as transit points for weapons, drugs and other contraband. Increasing government presence in such spaces is a vital part of counterterrorism planning, according to experts. “It’s different in every region or country, but there are some similarities,” Lt. Gen. Kayanja Muhanga, commander of land forces of the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Force, said during the recent African Chiefs of Defense Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. “Terrorists take advantage of ungoverned spaces.” Ungoverned spaces can be anywhere, but they are most often found in border regions far from the…

Tanzania has a long history of protecting civilians, promoting peace and supporting peacekeeping operations, particularly in Africa. It was no surprise that it recently hosted the United Nations Staff Officer Training of Trainers course. “This is a significant step for us,” Brig. Gen. George Mwita Itang’are, commandant of the Tanzania Peacekeeping Training Centre, said during the opening ceremony. “We are proud to host this under the U.N. banner.” The 10-day program took place at the training center in Dar es Salaam from July 7-17. Officers from Botswana, Ghana, Nigeria and Zambia were among the participants from 22 countries. They were…

Before the terrorists came, Dagodji was a thriving village alongside the Niger River in central Mali. There was bustling agriculture, a school, even a water tower. On the other side of the river, Soumaguel can still see the remnants of Dagodji from the town of Niafunké, where he fled in late April when fighters from the terrorist group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) ordered everyone to leave, accusing villagers of working with the Malian military. “We no longer have a home,” he told The Africa Report. “The rainy season is coming, and we haven’t been able to replaster our mud-brick…

After the fall of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Russia has scrambled to transfer military equipment to other areas, including eastern Libya. Experts question Russia’s long-term strategic goals and fear the expanded presence of mercenaries and military personnel could further destabilize Libya, Sudan and other nations in the region. The Kremlin increasingly has used Al-Khadim air base, about 100 kilometers east of Benghazi, as a hub for conducting operations, supplying arms, and trafficking resources in and out of the restive Sahel region. “One of former Libyan leader Mu’ammar Qaddafi’s greatest foreign policy failures was undoubtedly his 1980s attempt…

South Africa’s Border Management Authority (BMA) has deployed four drones and added 40 body cameras to halt illegal migration, smuggling and human trafficking at the borders it shares with six countries. Using the new technology, the BMA arrested 6,253 undocumented immigrants trying to enter or leave the country from April 15 to April 24. This marked a 61% increase from the 3,841 people intercepted during the same period in 2024. BMA Commissioner Michael Masiapato said the authority recorded just more than 1,000,000 movements across the country’s 71 ports of entry during that time frame. Of those apprehended, 2,019 were Zimbabweans,…

Fake investment scams, ransomware, digital sextortion and business email compromise are surging across the continent. Experts say African countries must do more to protect their citizens. Rising digital dependency in the public and private sectors, along with “a severe lack of cybersecurity capacity,” have combined to make Africans extremely vulnerable, according to Anna Collard, senior vice president of content strategy for security software company KnowBe4 Africa. “It means that Africa is an attractive target area for criminals,” she told ADF. “The majority of cybersecurity incidents go unreported or unresolved, meaning that cyber threats in Africa are likely much worse than…

African nations’ counterterrorism strategies range from battlefield combat to cat-and-mouse hunts in cyberspace. But there is one aspect of counterterrorism that some experts say deserves more attention — the influence jailed terrorists can have on other prisoners. The concern, according to Gen. Paul Phiri, commander of the Malawi Defence Force, is that terrorists will spread their radicalization to other prisoners, who then will carry it back into the community when they are released. “We need to make better connections between the military and corrections authorities,” Phiri told ADF during an interview at the African Chiefs of Defense Conference earlier this…

The World Hongmen History and Culture Association is a modern organization that describes itself as an ethnic fraternal group dedicated to promoting Chinese culture abroad. Established in 2013, it takes its name from a centuries-old secret society in China, also called the Hongmen. In the past, as in the present, the group has been revealed to be a facade for organized crime. It is active around the world and has a growing presence in Africa. Wan Kuok Koi, one of Asia’s most powerful crime bosses, leads the modern iteration of the Hongmen. He created the association after serving nearly 14…

Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire have launched joint patrols along the Cavalla River, which forms part of their border, as part of a broader strategy to combine forces against piracy and illegal fishing in the western Gulf of Guinea. The relationship is important to Liberia, which depends on its neighbors to help it defend its coast, Maj. Gen. Davidson Forleh, chief of staff for the Armed Forces of Liberia, said during the recent African Chiefs of Defense Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. “It’s important to have relations with countries that we share borders with,” Forleh said. “Bilateral relations, when aligned with regional…

Al-Qaida-linked terrorists attacked seven Malian military posts July 1 in a series of coordinated, simultaneous early-morning assaults on urban centers and towns. Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) claimed that it gained control of three Army barracks during the attacks. Mali’s Army claimed that it killed 80 terrorists but did not report any other casualties. JNIM claimed it killed dozens of Soldiers and destroyed more than 100 military vehicles and motorcycles. One military post was in Diboli, a town near the Senegalese border, that largely has been spared from terrorist attacks. “The border region to Senegal is a major gateway for…