ADF

ADF STAFF Striking an important blow against wildlife poaching, Malawi recently sentenced members of the Lin-Zhang crime syndicate to a collective 56.5 years in prison for trafficking in wildlife parts. The court sentenced nine members of the gang — seven Chinese nationals and two Malawians—  in July, closing a yearslong pursuit by Malawian law enforcement officials. The nine are among 14 gang members Malawian police arrested in May 2019. Lin-Zhang, considered one of the most prolific wildlife trafficking organizations in southern Africa, has been operating in Malawi and nearby countries for a decade. Officials arrested the leader of the organization,…

ADF STAFF The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) recently donated a new police station to the Somali Police Force in Baidoa, as terrorist attacks persist in the Horn of Africa nation. With a population of nearly 301,000, Baidoa is the largest city in the country’s southwestern Bay region. The Dutch government funded construction of the Bakiin Police Station, to which 30 officers will be assigned. AMISOM police also will use the station as the mission continues to train and mentor the Somali Police Force (SPF). “This station is located in a strategic area, on the edge of the town,…

ADF STAFF Fake medicines — materials posing as authentic pharmaceuticals but containing anything from industrial solvents to plain water — have long plagued the countries of Africa. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that African nations account for 42% percent of all counterfeit medicines in circulation. The results can be deadly. In Nigeria in 2009, a counterfeit batch of My Pikin teething syrup laced with a chemical found in brake fluid killed 84 children. In Cameroon in 2019, fake hypertension drugs contained glibenclamide, an anti-diabetic medication, instead of the correct compound to treat high blood pressure. That same year, a…

ADF STAFF In the black of night, the Sam Simon, a vessel in the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society fleet, silently drifted toward a boat illegally fishing in waters off The Gambia. Waving from the trawler’s mast was a vintage Chinese flag. Aboard the Sam Simon were armed members of the Gambian Navy and law enforcement agents with the country’s fisheries department who identified themselves before climbing onto the Chinese boat. The joint operation, known as Operation Gambian Coastal Defense, resulted in nine arrests on charges of illegal fishing and related crimes. “It’s a problem. The industrial (trawlers) are sophisticated,” Ammadou…

ADF STAFF Members of the Nigerien Armed Forces recently participated in discussion groups with U.S. Soldiers designed to promote mutual understanding on security issues and improve language skills. The course took place at the École de Formation des Officiers des Forces Armées Nigériennes (EFOFAN), a two-year officer-training school in Niamey. The latest group of students graduated on August 5. In addition to sessions on civil-military cooperation, the class agenda included information about the spread of COVID-19 and the need for officers to ensure that troops under their command take precautions to avoid the potentially fatal respiratory disease. The EFOFAN courses…

ADF STAFF Lamin Sanyang has had enough. A commercial fisherman in The Gambia, he is frustrated to the point of quitting the trade over Chinese interference in the country’s waters. Whenever he and his crew put out nets, he said, Chinese trawlers cut them while fishing illegally. Other local crews say foreign trawlers attack their boats when they check their nets. “It has been happening several times we have [gone] fishing and coming back with empty hand[s],” Sanyang told the Gambian newspaper The Voice. Fish seller Fatoumata Conteh said problems with Chinese trawlers have gotten worse recently, despite the government’s recent…

ADF STAFF Wearing an olive uniform blending into the verdant, thick brush, Ruth Sikeita raises her binoculars to observe a pack of zebras during a daily wildlife patrol. The way she sees it, working as one of eight rangers in the International Fund for Animal Welfare’s (IFAW’s) Team Lioness patrol unit is a win-win-win. “I look after wild animals, providing security for the wildlife, ensuring that they are safe,” she told IFAW.org. “It’s important because animals are like us. They need to be safe like us. They benefit us; tourists visit here because of the wild animals, and we are…

ADF STAFF An enormous trove of counterfeit Libyan dinars intercepted this spring in Malta was printed in Russia and bound for forces loyal to military leader Gen. Khalil Haftar, U.S. and Libyan officials said. The shipment of $1.1 billion in dinars has been held in Malta ever since. Russia denies they are illegitimate, arguing that Libya has two central banks. The international community recognizes the central bank in Tripoli as the country’s legitimate financial authority. According to the U.S. State Department, the bank notes were printed to worsen economic conditions in Libya by causing inflation. “This incident once again highlights…

ADF STAFF Violence continues to plague the Ituri province in the northeastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as a wave of deadly attacks in July has been attributed to the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo (CODECO) militia. The Congolese Army (FARDC) launched an offensive in January against Ituri militias as part of a wider operation that began in October 2019. Since then, militants have killed hundreds of civilians, many in acts that “may amount to crimes against humanity,” the United Nations said in a May report. Gunmen attacked two vehicles in the village of…

ADF STAFF As troops loyal to Libyan Gen. Khalifa Haftar retreated from the southern outskirts of Tripoli recently, they left behind booby-trapped land mines to maim and kill returning residents. Many of the mines were Russian- or Soviet-made — the calling card of the Kremlin-backed mercenaries known as the Wagner Group. U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) recently announced it has photographic proof of the Wagner Group’s role in mining the Tripoli neighborhoods as part of Russia’s support for Haftar’s side in the ongoing civil war. Haftar’s militia, known as the Libyan National Army (LNA), along with the eastern-based House of Representatives…