ADF

The 15th iteration of Obangame Express (OE26) returned in April to Cameroon, the country that first hosted the maritime security event in 2010. The largest multinational maritime exercise in West and Central Africa, OE26 worked to build cooperation to fight sea crimes such as illegal fishing, piracy and all manner of trafficking in the Gulf of Guinea. More than 30 nations, including 22 from Africa, participated in the U.S. Africa Command-sponsored exercise, designed to improve information sharing and maritime domain awareness, as well as tactical and operational readiness. “With piracy, illegal fishing, various forms of trafficking and attacks faced on…

Since inviting Russian mercenaries into Mali in 2021, the country’s ruling junta has focused its attention on subduing northern Tuareg rebels. Analysts believe the decision has let terror groups Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and Islamic State Sahel expand their presence in the country and threaten Mali’s economy with blockades. Aided by Russia’s Africa Corps, the Malian military’s heavy-handed approach has killed thousands of people suspected of being rebels or terrorists simply because of their ethnicity. Those killings — many of them summary executions — have, in turn, helped those same groups recruit new members. “While they were concentrating their…

Foreign countries are in a race to secure port agreements along the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, but an analyst is warning about the risk of such arrangements. According to Makda Girma, a senior researcher at Horn Review magazine, such deals often allow foreign navies or contractors to make critical decisions that bypass “already-weak local institutions” in and around Somalia. This causes discontent in coastal communities and creates areas where “international security rules trump local fisheries or trade ministries, carving out de facto foreign authority right under the flag of national control,” Girma wrote. He terms these arrangements that…

More than 5,600 people from about 40 nations studied new military technology during Exercise African Lion in Ghana, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia from April 20 to May 8. “This iteration focused heavily on innovation and advanced technology alongside humanitarian aid, reflecting the constructive dynamics that makes African Lion exercise a truly valuable opportunity for all participants,” Moroccan Armed Forces Brig. Gen. Reda Shuaib said after the final field exercise in Tan-Tan, Morocco. The largest multinational military exercise on the continent, African Lion is also United States Africa Command’s (AFRICOM) largest annual joint exercise. Organized by U.S. Army Southern European Task…

An expanding swath of Islamic terrorism stretching from western Mali through the Lake Chad Basin to Somalia and Mozambique accounted for nearly all terrorism-related deaths on the African continent in 2025, according to a new report. In 2025, nearly 24,000 people died in terrorist violence across Africa, up 24% from the previous year, according to research by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project. The 10 deadliest terror attacks worldwide were in sub-Saharan African, with six of those in Burkina Faso alone, according to the most recent edition of the Global Terrorism Index. The Sahel nations, which have been…

Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu confirmed a joint U.S. and Nigerian military raid took place early Saturday morning targeting a major Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) compound in northeast Nigeria. The precision air-land operation killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, second in command of Islamic State globally, who had established a stronghold in the Lake Chad Basin used to launch attacks against Nigerian Army bases and terrorize surrounding villages. According to Joint Task Force North-East, Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK), the mission targeted a concealed and fortified ISWAP compound located in the Metele area of Borno State, near the border with Chad. Multiple…

A region in northeast Nigeria has been dubbed “the Timbuktu Triangle” by terror groups as they aspire to tighten control and establish a caliphate. New reporting from Borno and Yobe states shows that residents live in fear as they face whippings, taxation and even execution if they violate rules put in place by occupiers. “It feels strange when a day passes without gunfire in the Timbuktu Triangle,” a health worker named Kande told The Africa Report magazine. “Damboa and its neighboring communities are soaked in blood.” Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters began to occupy the savannah region in…

As the Economic Community of West African States prepares to establish a regional force to combat terrorism and security threats, researchers say that identifying a reliable financing source will be critical. In February, chiefs of staff of ECOWAS endorsed the plan, which falls within the framework of the group’s Standby Force as provided for by the African Union. Officials announced the initial plan in August 2025, with a goal of 260,000 troops and an annual budget of $2.5 billion. The chiefs now have opted for a counterterrorism brigade of 1,650 Soldiers to form the core of the force. Benin, Côte…

The campus of the International Counter-Terrorism Academy in Jacqueville, Côte d’Ivoire, looked like a scene from an action movie, as armored vehicles swarmed across the ground and drones buzzed above in a highly coordinated search for attacking insurgents. West African forces and their international partners conducted a dramatic combat demonstration, putting lessons learned to the test and marking the conclusion of Exercise Flintlock on April 30. The purpose of the two-week training also was on display, as the threat of powerful, expanding terrorist groups is a stark reality in the region. “Terrorist threats know no borders and can only be…

Flintlock 26 wasn’t just a military exercise. For co-host Libya, it was a historic event that brought together Libyan soldiers from the country’s Government of National Unity (GNU) and Libyan National Army (LNA) governments, building tangible momentum toward stabilizing and potentially reunifying security forces in the North African country. The focus of Exercise Flintlock was enhancing counterterrorism capabilities and improving regional security coordination. But in Libya, all eyes were on the divided country’s military forces, which came together for joint drills. Some 1,500 service members from more than 30 nations participated in the 21st iteration of Exercise Flintlock, which also…