ADF

The Islamic State group’s Somalia branch has become a crucial hub for financing terror across Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia, according to recent studies. Islamic State-Somalia (ISSOM) operates out of the mountains of northern Puntland, placing it at the center of IS’s network reaching from Afghanistan to Mozambique. From that position, ISSOM funnels arms, fighters and millions of dollars in cash to IS affiliates across the region. Once considered a minor security threat, the group’s al-Karrar office has become a major player in the broader IS system. In February, ISSOM fighters killed nearly 100 people and wounded 60…

Nigeria’s National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) is reviewing its strategy as terror organizations launch fresh attacks. The NCTC, the Office of the National Security Advisor and other stakeholders discussed the strategy during a two-day workshop in February. It was held amid a surge in terror attacks near the country’s northern border with Niger. During the event, Maj. Gen. Adamu Garba Laka, the center’s national coordinator, characterized violent extremism as “one of the most complex security challenges of our time.” “It threatens national security and the very fabric of various communities, institutions and social cohesion,” Laka said in a report on the…

ADF STAFF In recent months, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have recaptured crucial territory from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) thanks in part to a key addition to their arsenal: Turkish drones. In October, Sudan’s military received two Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2s, bringing its total to eight TB2 drones. The SAF used the drones to attack RSF supply convoys and artillery units in el-Gezira State, including an attack on the Baka Bridge near Wad Madani. The drones joined the assault on Khartoum State in late 2024 as the military pushed to retake parts of the capital region. The drones accelerated the…

The Ghana Armed Forces showcased its new skills house where personnel will be trained to combat terrorism. The facility, which opened in February at the Ghana Army’s Special Operations Training School in Daboya will help troops refine skills in house-clearing tactics, cross-border operations and urban warfare. It also is expected to enhance intelligence sharing and joint military exercises among Ghana and its neighbors. Brig. Gen. Frank Nartey Tei, the GAF’s general officer commanding the Northern Command, expressed gratitude to the U.S. government during a ribbon-cutting ceremony. He noted that the U.S. has long been a key security partner for Ghana,…

After years of on-again, off-again negotiations, Sudan has agreed to let Russia establish its first naval base on the continent along the war-torn country’s Red Sea coast. “We are in complete agreement on this matter, and there are no obstacles,” Foreign Minister Ali Youssif said at a joint news conference with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in Moscow on February 12. After the ouster of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, the country’s new government terminated a treaty that had granted a long-term lease for Russia’s only foreign naval base. The Kremlin has stepped up efforts since then to…

A peace agreement between the government of Senegal and separatist rebels in Casamance is raising hopes that one of the continent’s longest-running conflicts may be nearing an end. On February 23, after three days of meetings, Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and members of the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance signed an agreement at an event hosted by Guinea-Bissau. Sonko called the signing a “very big step towards peace.” “Guinea-Bissau and Senegal must work together to promote peace in Casamance, because the instability of this region affects us all,” Sonko said, according to state broadcaster RTS. The peace deal…

Islamic State – Mozambique (ISM) terrorists recently attacked the Armed Forces for the Defense of Mozambique (FADM) twice in February at two separate locations in Cabo Delgado province. On February 20, the terrorists killed at least two members of the armed forces during an attack on a military outpost in Quissanga. Local sources told Mozambican news website Moz24h that the terrorists retreated before entering residential areas. The attack in Quissanga was preceded by an IS improvised explosive device attack on a Mozambican Army vehicle, but no deaths were reported. These attacks on FADM came after months of the IS mainly…

Overdose deaths by users of the synthetic drug “kush” are on the rise in West Africa, where new drug consumption and production markets are surging. Made with synthetic opioids, it is one of the most powerful and dangerous drugs on the market. Sometimes known as “the zombie drug,” its users can fall asleep while walking, sometimes into traffic. They can bang their heads against walls and fall from buildings. Users often complain of pounding pain in their head, neck and joints. It can cause limbs to swell, organs to fail and trigger severe mental health issues. A new report by…

The Islamic State group’s two affiliates in West Africa rely on both modern cryptocurrency and hawala, a traditional person-to-person exchange, to finance their operations. Nigerian authorities are tightening their controls over both financial channels to undermine the terror groups. Islamic State’s Nigeria-based Maktab al-Furqan office oversees financial operations of both Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP), operating in the Lake Chad Basin, and Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP), headquartered in northern Mali. The two groups raise millions of dollars in revenue through a complex mix of extortion, kidnapping and zakat, a form of religious obligation that IS has exploited across…

Authorities convicted seven Chinese nationals in late February in South Africa on nearly 160 charges related to human trafficking, kidnapping, debt bondage, labor law violations and breaches of occupational health and safety regulations. Sentencing is scheduled for late April. Officers arrested them in 2019 at the Beautiful City blanket factory in Johannesburg, where authorities said they employed 91 undocumented Malawians between 2017 and 2019, South African online newspaper TimesLIVE reported. Acting on a tip, the Hawks’ Serious Organized Crime unit, a branch of the South African Police Service; Tactical Response Team members and Department of Labor officials broke into the factory…