ADF

Al-Qaida-linked terrorists have extorted a hefty ransom for an Emirati sheikh to finance their efforts to strangle the government in Mali and impose their strict interpretation of Islamic law. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) paid more than $20 million to secure the freedom of an Emirati prince kidnapped by al-Qaida’s West Africa affiliate Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), according to news reports. Some news sources had previously put the ransom figure at more than $50 million. Kidnappers took the victim, a 78-year-old member of Dubai’s ruling family, in September during a raid of his farm south of Bamako, according to…

For almost nine months, Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces group has operated its own government in the west — a government that has been ignored by international authorities yet one that risks making Sudan’s crisis even worse, according to observers. “Parallel governments, as seen worldwide, often undermine the peace efforts, exacerbate crises, and result in a fragile, weakened state,” Sudanese analyst Gehad Ahmed wrote for Democracy in Africa. “For Sudan, this moves risks prolonging the war rather than ending it.” The RSF’s system, dubbed the “Government of Peace and Unity,” is led by RSF chief Gen. Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo.…

A new Tigrayan rebel group is clashing with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), conducting raids on civilians in the Afar region and renewing tensions along the front line of the nation’s civil war. This is stoking fears that Ethiopia’s fragile peace, which began in 2022 with the Pretoria peace agreement, is under threat. According to The Africa Report magazine, the rebel group known as the Tigray Peace Force (TPF) was established by disgruntled former Tigray Defense Forces (TDF) members and mid-level TPLF commanders who felt abandoned after the peace deal. “They saw no future under the TPLF leadership,” an…

Several South African men were shown milling around a parking lot wearing military uniforms bearing Russian flag badges. Behind them, a man said they were “off to fight Zelensky,” referring to the Ukrainian president. Speaking anonymously, one of the men said they were lured to Russia for training to provide “VIP protection” for more than 40,000 rand per month (more than $2,323), South Africa’s SABC News channel reported. They instead were transported to Ukraine’s embattled Donbas region, the majority of which Russia controls, to fight in the Kremlin’s drawn-out war. None of them had previous military training. Some of the…

Members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary force didn’t hide their violent acts after capturing the capital of North Darfur state in western Sudan — some even recorded them. In October, the RSF built a massive sand berm around El-Fasher, the last city in Darfur held by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and its allies. At sunrise on October 26, the RSF captured the town and launched attacks on civilians. Surrounded by bodies and burning vehicles, RSF fighters took videos of themselves laughing, smiling and executing unarmed civilians. “Look at all this work. Look at this genocide,” one said…

Despite a national crackdown on illegal gold mining in Ghana, the practice, locally known as “galamsey,” continues to contribute to the annual loss of billions of dollars. The mining is being driven by a combination of factors that includes depressed local economic conditions, scarce jobs, and lax enforcement. Some blame the influx of Chinese migrants for worsening the situation. Analysts say foreign miners exploit government regulatory lapses and have introduced large scale machinery such as dredging equipment that is destroying land and water sources. Many of the foreign miners were aided by China’s “Go Out” policy, which began encouraging Chinese…

As Sahel-based terrorist groups continue to look southward to expand their territory, resources, recruitment base and illicit trafficking, officials are urging West Africa’s coastal countries and their landlocked neighbors to work together. Across porous borders, terrorist groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State are finding a foothold in the northern regions of many of West Africa’s coastal countries. “Established groups expand their reach,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said in a November 18 speech to the Security Council. “Several coastal states are under threat. We face the risk of a disastrous domino effect across the entire region.” The Sahel…

In recent years, Africa’s militaries have gone on a drone-buying binge, stocking their arsenals with unmanned aerial vehicles from Turkey, China and elsewhere. However, new research suggests that those weapons are less effective than expected, especially given the continent’s sprawling spaces, fickle weather and diverse terrain. A lack of sufficiently trained operators and well-established control infrastructure, such as communications towers, also hinders the usefulness of so-called medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) drones in many African countries, according to analyst Brendon J. Cannon, a professor at Khalifa University in the United Arab Emirates. Among the most well-known MALE drone is Turkey’s Bayraktar TB2,…

Jean Bakomito Gambu, governor of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s northeastern Haut-Uélé province, visited a gold mining site this year after Chinese companies had laid waste to the area through illegal mining. “As you can see, this river is practically destroyed,” Gambu said while standing by the mine. “The water can no longer flow normally, and the economic benefits of this development for the province are zero.” Across many parts of Africa, a network of Chinese companies is engaged in illegal gold mining that devastates local communities, destroys forests and poisons water sources. Along with eastern parts of the…

In a dramatic six-hour operation, Nigerian authorities conducted a raid at Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport in Abuja, arresting five suspects and rescuing 24 victims of human trafficking. Recruiters targeted the victims, between the ages of 15 and 26, in Kano, Kastina, Oyo, Ondo and Rivers states. They were at the airport on October 1, heading to Afghanistan, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Sudan. “They told my mother that they are taking me to Europe, where I will work and earn dollars,” one of the victims told Nigeria’s National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP). “My parents…