ADF

After years of losses to the joint military forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, the Islamic State Central African Province (ISCAP) is resurgent and launching attacks throughout northeastern provinces of the DRC. Tryphen Mabikinyambey, a member of the provincial parliament representing the town of Bafwasende, said ISCAP fighters recently attacked 12 villages in the Bambodi sector of Tshopo province. “The rebels feel at home there. They are at ease. We have already reported their presence, yet there has still been no appropriate response from the authorities,” he told HumAngle Media for a June 5 article. “The…

Recent terrorist attacks by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin and Islamic State Sahel Province in western Niger reveal the rapidly deteriorating security situation in the country’s western Tillaberi region where the two groups are competing for control. Terrorists with Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP) attacked and looted Nigerien military bases in Inates and Banibangou on June 15. A few days later, on June 18, al-Qaida affiliate Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) attacked Niger’s international airport, which is also home to the military’s Air Base 101 and Russia’s Africa Corps. ISSP’s attacks killed at least 51 Soldiers at Inates and 34 at…

China has refused to sign an agreement meant to improve efforts to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Beijing commands the world’s largest distant-water fishing fleet and is the world’s worst illegal fishing offender, according to the IUU Fishing Risk Index. Seven African countries­ — Cameroon, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, the Republic of the Congo and Somalia — signed the Mombasa Declaration during the 11th Our Ocean Conference in Kenya in June. Belgium, Chile, the Dominican Republic, France, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru and South Korea also signed. The agreement supports the Global Charter for Fisheries Transparency, which…

As the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo grew to become one of the deadliest on record, authorities in neighboring Uganda used a range of tactics to keep the virus at bay. So far, the measures have paid off. On July 16, Uganda began a 42-day countdown to the outbreak being declared officially over inside its borders. The World Health Organization (WHO) requires countries to complete two consecutive 21-day incubation periods without a new case before declaring an outbreak’s end. Conditions, however, are not the same in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The DRC reported 2,073…

Chad has reestablished its military relationship with France nearly 18 months after demanding that French forces leave the country in a dispute over intelligence-sharing in the Lake Chad Basin. French troops returned to Chad in April with a focus on training, intelligence gathering and limited deployments. This is designed to respond to Chad’s needs as it confronts Boko Haram and the Islamic State West African Province in the Lake Chad region and potential security issues along its eastern border with Sudan. “Chadian observers regard this rapprochement as reflecting a mutual desire to preserve channels of security and military cooperation, while…

The armed conflict between the Sudan Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces crossed into its fourth year in April, leaving behind a trail of destruction. The human toll has been catastrophic, with thousands of lives lost and countless communities torn apart. Huge numbers of civilians have been uprooted from their homes, with many fleeing to safer regions within Sudan, while others have sought refuge in bordering nations. What began as an internal power struggle has grown into one of the most severe humanitarian crises in recent history. External actors have fueled the ongoing conflict by providing military supplies…

Iranian and Russian “shadow fleet” vessels use bogus websites that mimic African ship registries, maritime administrations, seafarer organizations and other layers of maritime compliance to evade sanctions on oil exports. Fake websites connected to these fleets likely are used to generate and corroborate false documents and certificates, according to a recent report by Insikt Group, the threat intelligence research division of Recorded Future, a cybersecurity company. These websites routinely impersonate national maritime administrations and ship registries in Benin, Cameroon, Chad, the Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Malawi and Zambia, and they facilitate false flag registration in several other countries. The fake websites…

As the Democratic Republic of the Congo battles a stubborn Ebola outbreak, mistrust, violence and instability are hindering health officials’ ability to respond. But lessons learned from the past and public health best practices offer a roadmap for how to stop the spread of the deadly disease. Experts fear the outbreak that began in May has yet to reach its peak and could last a year. “It is still in the expansion phase unfortunately,” Dr. Anne Ancia, the World Health Organization’s representative to the DRC, told reporters on July 7 according to Reuters. “We would like to say it is…

The al-Qaida-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) terror group on June 18 attacked Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, Niger’s capital, killing 11 soldiers and two civilians. Witnesses reported gunfire and explosions in the battle with security forces. Authorities said they killed 22 terrorists. The airport is a strategic hub that hosts military bases, the headquarters of the Niger-Burkina Faso-Mali Joint Force and a uranium stockpile. JNIM’s rival, the Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP), attacked a military base near the airport in late January. Authorities said soldiers killed 20 terrorists and arrested 20 others. The attack wounded four soldiers and…

In Nigeria’s illicit cybercrime training schools known as hustle kingdoms, there are no locks on the doors. Yet the young men being coerced into a life of online fraud don’t leave. They are held in place by something more durable than a lock and tougher to break than a chain. They are held by juju oaths, a practice tied to traditional West African spirituality. Juju is typically used as a form of protection. However, hustle kingdom operators, known as chairmen, have weaponized it. They tell their victims that breaking a juju oath by leaving or reporting on what happens in…