ADF

ADF STAFF In the battle against extremists in the Sahel, Niger has spent years directly fighting insurgents. Recently, the military tried a different tactic: building trust with rural young people to prevent them from joining extremists in the first place. That approach inspired members of the Nigerien Armed Forces (FAN), to host a day of songs, skits and other entertainment tailored to in the youth of the agricultural community of Ouallam, about 90 kilometers north of the capital, Niamey. Men and women from four tribes were part of the audience. The goal was to bring together FAN and the local…

ADF STAFF Chinese mining operations have been responsible for environmental damage in the Central African Republic (CAR), devastating the natural resources upon which local communities depend. Occasionally the conflict boils over, pitting villagers against Chinese nationals and the security forces they’ve hired for protection. That’s what happened over several days in late August and early September, prompting regional journalist Alexis Marcelin Yanga to use the term “uprising” in her reporting. “For several months the revolt has been brewing,” she wrote for Corbeau News Centrafrique. Environmental conflict turned into violence August 30 near the mining village of Gaga in the northwestern…

ADF STAFF Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) recently took possession of 23 combat and logistics vehicles in a transfer ceremony with officials from the U.S. government. Maj. Gen. Joseph Kivunzi, head of the Kenya Army’s Western Command, accepted the vehicles on behalf of KDF. The $4.4 million in vehicles included 15 Mack trucks, two Mack tow trucks and eight up-armored Humvees to support KDF combat and logistics operations. The vehicle transfer included training on operations and maintenance. Since 2018, the U.S. has assisted the KDF with over $10 million in equipment and training in support of its mission against al-Shabaab extremists…

ADF STAFF More than 50 years ago, researchers announced a new international fishery in the Gulf of Guinea off the coast of West Africa. “The protein‐hungry world has found a large and enormously rich fishing hole,” The New York Times proclaimed in 1964. Today, the Gulf of Guinea is rife with illegal fishing operations. They compete with legitimate commercial vessels and local small-scale artisans working close to shore. They cross boundaries with impunity, use banned fishing gear, and wreck fragile undersea ecosystems by trawling the bottom. In the process, they are destroying the Gulf’s fish stocks and threatening the livelihoods…

U.S. Africa Command Staff Modern conflicts rarely end with the signing of a treaty or a formal surrender. Some insurgent groups fight until the last gasp, while others hide among civilians. Ethnic tensions can simmer for generations after a war. Disparities over access to power or state resources make a return to violence possible. Peace is fragile, but security forces can adopt strategies that lay the foundation for enduring stability. Many countries have found that the most effective first step after combat is to offer hope to ex-combatants. Programs to disarm, demobilize and reintegrate (DDR) fighters have made a difference…

Since 1978 and 1979, when 10 female cadet officers and 64 recruits enlisted in the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF), more women have volunteered to serve. They have showed us, through more than 40 years of dedicated service to country, uncommon valor, courage, adaptability, selflessness and leadership. They have carried through their pledge to defend and protect this land that we love.  They have defied traditional strictures, they have battled against stereotypes and unequal treatment, and they have persevered and prevailed.  When my government, in conjunction with the United Kingdom and the International Security Advisory Team, launched this…

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Malawi has received 17 black rhinos from South Africa under a program to replenish the species that temporarily died out in the Southern African country in the 1980s. African Parks, a charity headed by Britain’s Prince Harry, said the operation began with an eight-hour drive from South Africa’s Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife game reserve. The rhinos then were released into Liwonde National Park in southern Malawi, where British troops are training anti-poaching rangers. “This is one of the largest international black rhino translocations to date,” said a statement by Peter Fearnhead of African Parks, which rehabilitates and manages about…

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Early each morning, a crowd gathers outside Ahmad Isah’s radio studio in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, hoping to share their problems over the airwaves. For those waiting, Isah’s Brekete (which means “very big” in pidgin English) Family show offers a rare chance to try to hold officials accountable. A lucky few get to make themselves heard on issues ranging from their struggles against the authorities to medical needs and requests for financial assistance. “My goal is to give a voice to the voiceless, facilitate arbitration, expose wrongdoings and force those in power to respect rights,” said Isah, who is…

THOMSON REUTERS FOUNDATION Data analyst Fabrice Sonzahi enrolled in a course on artificial intelligence (AI) in Dakar, Senegal, hoping to help farmers improve crop yields in his home country of Côte d’Ivoire. He is part of an inaugural class at an AI programming school in Senegal, one of the first in West Africa. It will train people to use data to solve issues such as the impact of weather on crops. The Dakar Institute of Technology (DIT), which opened in September 2019, ran its first 10-week boot camp with nine students in partnership with French AI school Vivadata. “I am…

ADF STAFF M.K. was an unruly child, by his own admission.  The Idgwi island boy was not a good student. He didn’t listen to his parents or teachers. At age 13, he traveled to Goma, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) North Kivu province, to visit his older brother. While there, members of the National Congress for the People’s Defence (CNDP) drove up in a car, stopped him and asked him for identification. When M.K. said he did not have ID, members of the Congolese Tutsi anti-government militia tied him up, put him in the car and drove…