ADF

ADF STAFF Since January, Iranian cargo planes have been seen regularly at the airport in Port Sudan, the headquarters for Sudan’s ruling junta led by Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. Soon after those planes began arriving, the SAF launched attacks against the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) using Iranian-made Mohajer-6 drones. In the meantime, the United Arab Emirates and Russia, via the mercenary organization Africa Corps, have supplied the RSF with weapons, fuel and other resources including quadcopter-style drones outfitted to carry and drop 120 mm mortar shells. The SAF has also used this technique. Drones have…

ADF STAFF The rapid expansion of digital technology in recent years has left millions of Africans vulnerable to cybercriminals seeking to scam them, their companies, and even their governments out of money and personal information. The problem is so pervasive that, according to some estimates, such crimes can cost African countries up to 10% of their gross domestic product each year. “Cyber threats are more sophisticated and complex than ever and evolving quickly with new technology like AI [artificial intelligence] becoming increasingly advanced every day,” Stu Sjouwerman, CEO of South African cybersecurity company KnowBe4, wrote recently for the online publication…

ADF STAFF Cybercriminals targeted a shipping company or maritime entity once every three days in late 2023. That figure is rising and requires extra vigilance by African security professionals, experts say.  Among those sounding the alarm are the leaders of the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Center in Antananarivo, Madagascar, which relays alerts of maritime threats around the East and Southern Africa and Indian Ocean (ESA-IO) region.  “Cybercrime is an emerging threat to maritime security that is beginning to gain the upper hand, and in the ESA-IO region it is creeping up on us,” said Lt. Saïd Lavani, Comoran international liaison…

ADF STAFF The Kenyan government has announced major investments in weapons and equipment to modernize its military. The country will spend about 7 billion Kenyan shillings ($45 million) annually for five years to acquire tactical vehicles, drones and other modern defense tools, according to the interior ministry. Part of the investment will include buying drones to monitor border and coastal areas that have been plagued by bandits and terrorists. The first batch of equipment was to include mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles, aerial surveillance kits, and personal protective gear.  Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki said a major goal of the investment is…

ADF STAFF During its more than two-year intervention in Mozambique, Rwandan and allied forces liberated 90% of the troubled Cabo Delgado region from the grip of extremists.  Ralph Shield, a conflict researcher with the U.S Naval War College, studied the actions of the 2,500 Rwandan Soldiers and police officers and found that they pursued militants while still exercising discretion in the use of force to avoid civilian harm. In fact, he found, Rwanda was deployed to Mozambique for an entire year before inflicting its first recorded civilian fatality. Shield pointed to three factors he believes helped Rwanda fight the insurgency…

ADF STAFF A string of drug seizures by the Senegalese Navy demonstrates the uptick in trafficking in West Africa and the determination of security forces to shut down the routes. In late December 2023, the Senegalese Navy seized 690 kilograms of cocaine being transported to Europe in an ultra-fast boat and arrested five Spanish nationals on board. This took place after two seizures, each of about 3 metric tons, in busts on November 28 and December 16, 2023. “In recent years drug seizures on the high seas have become more frequent,” wrote the Senegalese newspaper Le Quotidien. “This latest operation,…

ADF STAFF Ghanaian leaders hailed the importance of military education and training as classes have commenced at a new war college and plans are underway to establish a full university system. President Nana Akufo-Addo laid out his vision for the National Defence University during his address at a November 17, 2023, graduation parade at the Ghana Military Academy (GMA) in Teshie, Accra. “The university will be a multidisciplinary higher education institution that would educate personnel of the armed forces, other security agencies, governmental departments and agencies, and foreign military personnel,” he said. The university, he said, will offer an overarching…

UNITED NATIONS The United States representative to the United Nations has announced a pledge of $3 million to support a body armor pilot program for women.  Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield joined partners from Ghana, the Netherlands and Zambia to support this first-of-its-kind project intended to address inadequate personal protective equipment provided for female peacekeepers and increase their ability to meaningfully participate in peacekeeping missions. “One major barrier for entry? The ‘unisex’ personal protective equipment that simply doesn’t fit women peacekeepers,” she said.  Women-specific body armor features a tailored cut, rounded chest, shortened torso and adjustable back that provides better coverage of…

ADF STAFF The United Nations has opened a Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT) facility for peacekeepers at its regional service center in Entebbe, Uganda. It is the first of its kind in Africa. The facility is part of the U.N. Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) Academy for Peace Operations. Instructors lead the facility’s online classes. The Observer of Uganda reported that the facility “allows real-time collaboration and offers accessibility to subject matter experts, creates an immersive learning experience, enables tracking and measurement of success, reduces costs, and increases training capacity.” A C4ISR system can include an online…

UNITED NATIONS For more than a year, a group of United Nations peacekeepers from Ghana led by Capt. Esinam Baah regularly patrolled the “blue line,” or the demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel. They visited neighborhoods in the area, checking in with families to make sure they were safe. In 2022, Baah was one of the 173 Ghanaian female peacekeepers who served in the U.N. Interim Mission in Lebanon. She also was one of the 6,200 uniformed female peacekeepers — military and police personnel — serving in the world’s 12 peacekeeping missions. These women often are seen as a beacon…