ADF

As peacekeeping missions stretch miliary resources, governments are increasingly turning their attention to partnering with private companies to shoulder the load. Supporters of public-private partnership (PPP) arrangements see them as a way to strengthen the African continent’s military capabilities by harnessing innovations from the private sector. “By fostering collaborations between government entities and private industry we can revitalize existing capabilities, integrate cutting-edge technologies suited for purpose, and ensure that our defense forces and security cluster are well equipped to meet the contemporary challenges they face,” Daniel du Plessis told defenceWeb during the 2025 Public-Private Partnerships for Defense and Security Conference…

Security forces in Somalia’s autonomous northeastern Puntland region have made significant progress in ridding the area of the Islamic State group in Somalia (ISSOM). Since November, the Puntland Defense Forces (PDF) has waged war on the group in a campaign known as Operation Hilaac. Clan militias; the Puntland Darawish, a regional paramilitary unit; and the Puntland Maritime Police Force participated in the operation, which recently has reclaimed swaths of mountainous territory from ISSOM. In late April, Darawish forces killed more than 40 ISSOM fighters during operations in the Togga Miiraale area of the Cal Miskaad mountain range. “Our forces dealt a…

Militant Islamist violence in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger is continuing to expand to the west and south, threatening coastal nations from Mauritania to Nigeria. Violence linked to terror groups affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group (IS) has steadily increased in scale and scope in recent years. Fatalities linked to these groups are more than two and a half times the levels recorded in 2020 when the first of Mali’s military coups occurred, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS) reported. Increased insecurity also came after subsequent coups in Burkina Faso and Niger. “The continued southward and westward…

In the wake of the success of aerial drones, naval forces are exploring ways to use uncrewed surface vessels to address maritime threats. The drone ships, also known as USVs, can be as small as a meter or as large as 100 meters and are controlled by operators on land or navigate autonomously using sensors. They have clear advantages over traditional vessels: They are cheaper, operate in all weather and don’t put Sailors at risk. “These advances have turned USVs into a genuine force multiplier,” Matthew Ratsey of the company Zero USV told South Africa’s Engineering News. “They extend the…

Terrorism is a crime of opportunity. Global terror groups search out the world’s most vulnerable areas and plant their flags there.  Countries with porous borders, ethnic strife, governmental neglect and a young, frustrated population are ripe for exploitation. Africa is not spared from this global phenomenon.  In Mozambique, the Sahel, Somalia and coastal West Africa, extremists are active and looking to expand. The Sahel now is the global epicenter of terrorism, accounting for 43% of the world’s terrorism deaths in 2023. In 2007, that figure was only 1%.  Burkina Faso is in the eye of the Sahel’s terror storm. More…

Amina J. Mohammed of Nigeria is deputy secretary-general of the United Nations and chair of the U.N. Sustainable Development Group. She spoke on April 22, 2024, at the High-Level African Counter-Terrorism Meeting in Abuja, Nigeria. The theme was “Strengthening Regional Cooperation and Institution Building to Address the Evolving Threat of Terrorism in Africa.” Her comments have been edited for space and clarity. Terrorism continues to pose a significant threat to global peace, stability and sustainable development. Deaths from terrorism in the world rose to 8,352 in 2023, a 22% increase from the prior year and the highest level since 2017.…

The Economic Community of West African States conducted Operation Safe Domain III, aimed at keeping the Gulf of Guinea free of piracy and trafficking. The West African regional bloc, known as ECOWAS, includes 12 coastal countries among its 15 members. The third iteration of the maritime security training event ran August 5 to 9, 2024, in Cotonou, Benin. The exercise included maritime and aerial surveillance, intervention training of operational units, surveys, and knowledge and research exchanges. The regional bloc’s Multinational Maritime Coordination Center (MMCC) for Zone E led the event. Zone E consists of Benin, Nigeria and Togo. “The exercise’s…

Just three years after the Nigerian Air Force took delivery of a dozen A-29 Super Tucanos, Airmen there have logged 10,000 flying hours on the single-engine light attack planes.  Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, Nigeria’s chief of air staff, noted the achievement at Kainji Air Force Base in August 2024, saying that it represents years of dedication, sacrifice and unwavering commitment to the Air Force’s mission. “Reaching 10,000 flight hours is no small feat as it symbolizes the countless hours of training, meticulous planning and flawless execution that have gone into every mission we have undertaken,” Abubakar said, as reported by…

Guinea-Bissau, a West African nation once known as a “narco-state,” intercepted 2.63 metric tons of cocaine just months after the United Nations reported that nearby Sahel states were emerging as significant drug trafficking routes.  Authorities in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Niger seized 1.47 metric tons of cocaine in 2022 compared to an average of 13 kilograms between 2013 and 2020, according to a 2024 report from the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). “The involvement of various armed groups in drug trafficking continues to undermine peace and stability in the region,” Amado Philip de Andrés, UNODC regional representative…

Africa is now the continent most affected by terrorism. Each day, an average of eight terror attacks results in 44 deaths. In certain parts of the Sahel, Lake Chad Basin, the Horn of Africa and Mozambique, deadly violence is a near constant horror. In particular, the Sahel has emerged as the global terrorism epicenter, accounting for 47% of all deaths from violent extremism. Terror groups have capitalized on the region’s poor governance, ethnic divisions, coups and fractured regional security partnerships. Heavy-handed responses by military-led governments and a reliance on unaccountable mercenaries have done little to contain the problem and might…