ADF

From Burkina Faso to Sudan, drones have gained an ever-increasing role in conflicts, evolving from reconnaissance tools to nearly unstoppable airborne explosives. Now, experts worry, those same conflicts might become the testing ground for autonomous drones programmed to attack targets without human input. Some argue that the continent already has seen its first killing by an autonomous drone. That was in 2020 in Libya, when a Turkish-made STM Kargu-2 equipped with facial recognition software pursued and killed forces loyal to Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. A United Nations investigation found inconclusive evidence that the drone, while capable of acting autonomously, actually…

Artisanal fishermen in Cameroon’s Douala-Edéa National Park are decrying Chinese trawlers that destroy their fishing gear, fish in prohibited zones, and use illicit nets and chemicals to catch fish. A fisherman in Mbiako, a fishing town of about 3,000 people along the Sanaga River basin, said three local fishermen were shot in 2024 amid confrontations with the industrial trawlers, which access the park from the Gulf of Guinea via the Sanaga River. They fish on Lake Tissongo and in the park’s mangrove swamps and coastal waters. “The trawlers’ army pursues us with guns at sea,” the fisherman anonymously told the…

In a historic first, Libya will co-host Exercise Flintlock 2026, a training event intended to bring together both factions of the country’s divided armed forces. U.S. Lt. Gen. John Brennan, the deputy commander of U.S. Africa Command, made the announcement on October 14 during a weeklong visit to the country. Flintlock, the premier special forces exercise on the African continent, will also include a training location in Côte d’Ivoire.  “This exercise isn’t just about military training; it’s about overcoming divisions, building capacity, and supporting Libya’s sovereign right to determine its own future,” Brennan said. “By working alongside Libyans from the…

The continent loses up to $50 billion annually to illicit financial flows, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Crimes such as trafficking of humans, weapons and drugs; illegal fishing; oil theft; and other sea crimes are linked to porous ports and under-resourced customs systems. Maritime security analysts now say securing ports and other maritime gateways is as critical as building roads or negotiating trade agreements. As noted by the African Press Agency (APANews), port investments often focus first on terminal expansion and optimizing logistics, with security a secondary priority. This approach also affects landlocked African nations, as…

Imprisoned former terrorists have a better chance of reintegrating into society if their rehabilitation efforts are considered sincere, according to a new survey of Nigerians. It also says that the severity of their crimes and the circumstances of their initial recruitment are important factors. Amélie Godefroidt, a senior researcher at the Catholic Research University in Leuven, Belgium, reported initial results of the survey of 2,000 young Nigerians in an October 2025 article in The Conversation. Surveyors conducted the research in Nigeria, where the terrorist group Boko Haram has launched attacks for more than 20 years. As the group has weakened…

The bloody landscape of el-Fasher, the Sudanese Armed Forces’ (SAF) last stronghold in the Darfur region, is emblematic of the complexity of Sudan’s 2½-year-old civil war. Rapid Support Forces (RSF) drones and artillery shells have pulverized the city, the capital of North Darfur, and its more than 250,000 residents during October attacks, leaving men, women and children dead and their homes and other buildings reduced to rubble. Because of the danger from drone attacks and sniper fire, “We can only bury people at night, or very early in the morning,” Mohyaldeen Abdallah, a local journalist, told Reuters. “It’s become normal…

Donkeys are essential pack animals in many rural African communities. They are the quiet laborers that carry clean water and firewood, transport children to school, mothers to clinics, and goods to market. However, donkeys are disappearing and rising in cost due to Chinese demand for their hides. Wiebke Plasse of the German animal welfare group Welttierschutzgesellschaft recently visited a market in the southwestern Kenyan town of Bisil, about 60 kilometers from the Tanzanian border. Plasse saw several hundred donkeys at the market, and a trader said more were coming. “When you ask, you find out: All these donkeys are reserved…

Under the cover of darkness, a small group of Islamic State Mozambique (ISM) fighters targeted a neighborhood on the outskirts of Mocímboa da Praia in Cabo Delgado province on September 22. They went from house to house, reportedly looking for specific individuals, before they beheaded four men from the Makonde ethnic group. It was one of about 30 attacks across the province in September that resulted in at least 39 civilian deaths and forced about 20,000 people to flee their homes. In the lead-up to October 5, the anniversary of the insurgency’s first attack that targeted three police stations in…

Villagers gathered for evening prayers at the mosque in Manda, Niger, on June 20. Soon after, the killers arrived. Terrorists affiliated with the Islamic State group (IS) slaughtered 70 worshippers at the mosque. The handful of survivors lived by playing dead among their fellow worshippers’ bodies. “There were bodies everywhere, one on top of the other,” one woman, whose three sons died in the attack, told Human Rights Watch (HRW). The attack was part of escalating violence that has killed nearly 1,700 Nigeriens since military leaders overthrew President Mahmoud Bazoum in 2023. Terrorists have killed more than 130 people since…

The International Conference of Ombuds Institutions for the Armed Forces (ICOAF) was held in Africa for the first time. The host was South Africa, the only country on the continent with a military ombudsman. Establishing the South African Military Ombud (SAMO) and contributing to global collaboration on military accountability are points of great pride in the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), which models the principle of African solutions to African security challenges by running a robust operation. In opening the conference, South African Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Angie Motshekga reaffirmed the government’s commitment to independent oversight of…