ADF

The rival Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are engaged in intense propaganda battles across broadcast and cyberspace as each seeks to build support for their side of the 3-year-old Sudan war. “The SAF and RSF have engaged in a virtual war on social media and traditional media platforms to shape domestic and international opinions to their advantage … since the first day of the war,” analyst Hamid Khalafallah wrote for the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy. Along with their own media channels, each side relies on supporters to amplify the propaganda. Other groups…

Mali’s ruling junta and its Russian backers recently launched airstrikes on Kidal, the northern city controlled since late April by the Tuareg-dominated Azawad Liberation Front, known by its French acronym, FLA. The attack was a response to losing control of the city after a joint force of fighters from the FLA and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) drove out the Malian Army and Russia’s Africa Corps, which had held the city since 2023. Kidal is the heart of the Tuareg homeland, which spans parts of the Sahara Desert and Sahel and includes sections of Algeria, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. While…

Transnational terror groups know how to find weak spots on the map. They look for regions that are isolated because countries do not cooperate militarily or share intelligence. They move along lightly guarded borders. They seek out people who feel underserved and forgotten by their government. They look for communities beset by cultural and political divisions. These are the ingredients necessary for terrorism to thrive, and the mixture is quite strong in the Sahel.  In recent years, the Sahel has been the global epicenter of terrorism, accounting for nearly half of the world’s terror-related deaths. Military coups in Burkina Faso,…

Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu of Ethiopia, executive secretary of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), addressed the Regional Consultative Seminar on Harnessing Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity for Security, Cooperation, and Resilience in Nairobi, Kenya, on June 18, 2025. His remarks have been edited for length and clarity. Across our region, we face complex security challenges, and these range from transnational crime and terrorism to cybercrime and border management gaps. Nevertheless, even within these challenges lies the opportunity for innovation through artificial intelligence and cyber-security solutions. The future of regional security belongs to those who harness AI. I challenge us all to…

Authorities arrested 1,209 cybercriminals and recovered $97.4 million in a major crackdown involving investigators from 18 African countries, the United Kingdom and Interpol. The operation, named Serengeti 2.0, ran from June to August 2025 and tackled high-impact cybercrimes such as business email compromise schemes, ransomware and other online scams, Interpol reported. Authorities identified about 88,000 victims of fraud and illegal cryptocurrency networks and dismantled 11,432 malicious infrastructures. Before the operation, investigators participated in workshops that covered open-source intelligence tools and techniques, cryptocurrency investigations, and ransomware analysis, according to Interpol. This training is credited with contributing to the effectiveness and success…

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) plans to activate a 260,000-troop rapid deployment counterterrorism brigade to help fight terrorism in the subregion. “This bold initiative has become necessary given the asymmetric security dynamics in our region,” said Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security. He spoke for Commission President Dr. Omar Touray at the inaugural African Chiefs of Defence Staff Summit in Abuja, Nigeria, in August 2025. “We are conscious of the fact that this requires the necessary financial resources and capabilities to make it a reality. ECOWAS is therefore throwing the gauntlet to bilateral…

As terrorist groups continue to expand beyond the Sahel, countries throughout West Africa are emphasizing the importance of logistical cooperation to rapidly deploy and support troops. The growing threat of al-Qaida and Islamic State group affiliates loomed over the 2025 West Africa Logistics Conference co-hosted by United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) and the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) in the capital, Monrovia, in August 2025. More than 90 participants from 22 nations and organizations attended, including most West African countries and representatives from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). “This conference could not have come at a better…

During the 2026 African Air Chiefs Symposium (AACS), more than 30 military leaders discussed ways to harmonize efforts to counter insurgencies and strengthen humanitarian assistance and disaster response. Throughout the event, the chiefs discussed enhancing regional security and interoperability and worked to draft a seven-year plan for the Association of African Air Forces (AAAF). The three-day symposium, which was jointly organized by the Tunisian Air Force and the United States Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa, ended May 15. Co-hosted by Nigeria, the 15th AACS included a tour of the Tunisian Air Force’s Noncommissioned Officer School and an air power…

A United Nations official warned that corruption and organized crime drive violence and terrorism in Nigeria as he introduced a five-year plan to bolster the nation’s criminal justice system, rule of law and judicial access. Cheikh Toure, Nigeria’s country representative for the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), addressed journalists at the launch of the UNODC Nigeria Country Programme 2026-2030 on March 24, 2026, in Abuja. “Criminal networks are becoming more sophisticated. Technology is reshaping both opportunities and risks, and globally, we are witnessing shifts in how illicit activities are financed,” Toure told journalists, according to the state-owned News…

Niger’s southwestern Tillaberi and Dosso regions have become host to the latest turf war between Sahelian terror groups Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and the Islamic State Sahel Province (IS Sahel). In recent weeks, the two groups have attacked each other repeatedly as each seeks to establish dominance over the corner of Niger that borders Benin to the south and northwest Nigeria to the east. “The rivalry between the two groups is both ideological and territorial,” Héni Nsaibia, senior researcher for West Africa at the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) project, told The Africa Report. Although JNIM remains…