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Burkina Faso and Niger will exchange 18 towns to settle a long-running border dispute and end years of litigation. Burkina Faso will gain 14 towns, and Niger will receive four between May 2015 and the end of 2016, when the drawing of the boundary is complete, said Kouara Apiou Kabore of the Burkina Faso National Border Commission. Niger and Burkina Faso, which were French colonies before independence in 1960, share a border of nearly 1,000 kilometers, about a third of which has been mapped. The rest of the border, which both countries have contested, was redefined in a 2013 decision…

Kenya opened a new forensic lab in May 2015, supported by foreign donors, in a bid to improve the country’s record in prosecuting wildlife crimes. Scientists at the forensic and genetics laboratory at the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) headquarters in Nairobi will be able to analyze and genetically trace seized items such as elephant ivory or rhino horn to provide more compelling evidence in court cases. Construction of the 60 million shilling ($623,000) facility has taken nearly three years. Tanzania opened a similar lab at a college in Moshi in 2013 to provide training in forensic science. “The establishment of…

Zimbabwe soon could approve construction of a large tourist center at Victoria Falls to cater to 120,000 visitors per year, officials said in June 2015. The $18 million park at the UNESCO world heritage site will boast a replica African village and will use exhibits to tell the story of the waterfalls known locally as “Mosi-oa-Tunya,” which translates to “the smoke that thunders.” “It will be a giant village, African in design and style, showcasing village scenes, traditional customs and history,” said Dave Glynn, chairman of the developers Africa Albida Tourism. “This is not a theme park. This is strictly…

Building a Military Culture that Molds Ethical Leaders In a speech to graduating Air Force cadets, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, South Africa’s minister of defense, told the audience they were about to embark on a career like no other. “You have accepted the highest call to duty any citizen can ever take,” she said in June 2015. “As you pass out today, you join a unique group of South Africans, those who, instead of a normal job, have elected to serve as defenders of your country, its people and its resources.” But, she added, the true nature of a military professional can…

In Multinational Missions, Preparation and Discipline Are Key COL. EMMANUEL KOTIA, PH.D., CHIEF INSTRUCTOR AT THE KOFI ANNAN INTERNATIONAL PEACEKEEPING TRAINING CENTRE, ACCRA, GHANA Military professionalism has three main characteristics: responsibility, corporate unity and expertise, according to Samuel Huntington in his book, The Soldier and the State. These should be at the core of all military functions. Their importance in peacekeeping dates back to 1948 when the military played a central role in the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization in the Middle East, the first modern peacekeeping mission. Today, the U.N. leads 16 peacekeeping operations worldwide. All depend on the efforts…

One of Africa’s youngest militaries, the Botswana Defence Force, was formed with professionalism at its core Lt. Gen. Tebogo Masire was commander of the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) until his retirement in 2012. During his 35-year military career, he served in a number of command positions, including air arm commander from 1989 to 2006. A pilot with more than 4,000 flying hours, Masire flew all four presidents of Botswana to destinations in 30 countries. At the time of his retirement, he was the last member of Botswana’s first batch of military recruits to still be in active service. He spoke…

Flintlock 2015 helps the Lake Chad region unite to fight Boko Haram For nearly a decade, special operations Soldiers have gathered in the Sahel for Flintlock, the annual exercise designed to build partnerships and share tactics needed to rid the region of extremists and traffickers. Flintlock 2015 was different. It involved a real and nearby threat: the extremist group Boko Haram. In fact, the Flintlock closing ceremony near N’Djamena, Chad, on March 9, 2015, was conducted as ground and air forces from Niger and Chad launched an offensive in northeastern Nigeria to dislodge the terror group from its stronghold. Since…

The director of Flintlock 2015 talks about leading a military exercise with multiple armies and modern technology. Chadian Brig. Gen. Zakaria Ngobongue served as the director for Exercise Flintlock 2015, with Chad as the host country. He is commander of his country’s Joint Military Group of Schools. Although he has participated in several multinational military exercises, this was his first Flintlock. Africa Defense Forum interviewed the general twice at a camp near N’Djamena in the final days of the exercise in March 2015. The general spoke in French, with an English translator. These are excerpts of those interviews: Q: It’s…

The historic city of Agadez, Niger, sits along the southern fringe of the Sahara, where nearly everything seems to take on the tan hue of the ubiquitous, powdery sand. The city, known as the gateway to the desert, began developing in the 15th and 16th centuries with the establishment of the sultanate of Aïr. The center of the city served as a crossroads for caravan traders and is divided into 11 irregular sections. Each section contains mud buildings and religious structures, including a 27-meter-tall minaret, the highest mud brick structure of its kind in the world. Historic trading hubs such…

The African Conference of Commandants encourages militaries to learn from each other Dramatic changes in society used to be single events. The end of World War II. The collapse of the Soviet Union. The global financial crisis. Writer Joshua Cooper Ramo summed up the events of the 21st century as “an avalanche of ceaseless change.” As is almost always the case, the military is called on to help manage the changes. Now, more than ever, a well-trained military is essential. That’s where African nation staff colleges, also known as war colleges, come in. They train army officers in the science of…