ADF

ADF STAFF With bows, slingshots and spears in hand, the young villagers advanced in a line through a forest in the town of Pala in southwest Chad. As the early morning light sifted through the trees, some crawled through the undergrowth while others crouched behind eucalyptus trees. Their leader gave a signal, and they split into small groups. Another signal stopped the men in their tracks, and they trained their weapons on an imaginary target. “Release the hostages and put your weapons down,” they shouted, according to Agence France-Presse. The training exercise was designed to prepare for the likelihood of…

ADF STAFF Terrorists in Benin’s W National Park have killed at least seven Beninese security forces and five rangers working with a nonprofit organization. No terror group claimed responsibility for the July 28 attack near Benin’s borders with Burkina Faso and Niger, but organizations linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group operate in the park and around the region. On July 20, the al-Qaida-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) attacked a northern Togo Army barracks near the Burkina Faso border, killing six people and seizing weapons. At the time, JNIM also claimed responsibility for attacks on eight military operations in…

ADF STAFF Thirty years after genocide killed hundreds of thousands of its people, Rwanda launched the Isōko Peace Institute to help communities worldwide learn to live in harmony. The announcement was made during a three-day peace conference at the University of Rwanda that featured 400 academics, policymakers and high-ranking authorities. “Peace is not merely the absence of conflict. It is the presence of justice, equity and respect for human dignity,” Kayihura Muganga Didas, vice chancellor of the University of Rwanda, told attendees. “Together, peace and resilience form the bedrock of a healthy, progressive society.” Nearly 70% of Rwanda’s population was…

ADF STAFF Fighters from the Oromo Liberation Army rebel group took a woman named Alemetu from her home in Ethiopia’s Oromia region as she tried to sleep. She was taken to an abandoned school where 40 OLA fighters lived and was held hostage for four weeks. During her captivity, Alemetu was beaten with a horsewhip and suspended upside down from a tree for several hours — while she was pregnant. Alemetu was released only after her family paid a ransom of 110,000 birr (just more than $1,900), a huge sum in rural Ethiopia. The OLA, which torched her house after…

ADF STAFF When Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed signed the Pretoria peace accord in 2022, it stopped the war between the federal government’s coalition of forces and the Tigray rebels, but it did little to resolve the disputes between the Tigrayan and Amhara people over territory and resources. The Pretoria Agreement did not resolve the issue of contested land or establish a process for the return and reintegration of internally displaced people (IDP) and refugees. In 2024, sporadic clashes over these issues have aggravated old wounds and are threatening to return the country to large-scale armed conflict. “Sustainable peace requires…

ADF STAFF Gender-based violence and allegations of rape in the Central African Republic (CAR) have escalated in recent months, and locals are casting much of the blame on Russian mercenaries. More than 1,000 Russian mercenaries of the notorious Wagner Group are estimated to be in CAR since they deployed in 2018 to protect the government of President Faustin-Archange Touadéra against rebels. This contingent, which is now part of the rebranded Africa Corps and reportedly has been subsumed by Russian military intelligence, also is tasked with protecting Russia’s mining interests and comes into regular contact with civilians. Personal horror stories involving…

ADF STAFF For at least 25 years, bandits have plagued northern Nigeria, terrorizing and stealing from residents, recruiting new members, and driving the region’s chronic insecurity. Experts with the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organizational Crime (GI-TOC) and the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) say that Nigerian authorities should consider a nonmilitary approach to bandits by targeting their finances. Bandits make money through crimes such as  cattle rustling, kidnapping, extorting farmers and taking over artisanal gold mines. “It’s a subject matter that is the least understood,” analyst Kingsley L. Madueke said of bandits’ financing during an online discussion…

ADF STAFF Hunger in Chad typically peaks from June to August in the lean season between harvests, but this year is looking far worse because of a major influx of mouths to feed. More than 700,000 Sudanese refugees have arrived in Chad since fighting broke out in neighboring Sudan in 2023. They add to the 600,000 people who had fled to Chad, mostly from the Darfur region, which has suffered from violent ethnic and political conflict for more than two decades. Chadian Minister of Public Health Abdelmadjid Abderahim recently announced the launch of the country’s national emergency response plan to…

ADF STAFF Over the last decade, India has emerged as a key security partner for nations across Africa with particular emphasis on terrorism, piracy and maritime domain awareness. Since 2015, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched his country’s Security and Growth for All in the Region policy, India has hosted hundreds of African leaders. Modi has sent cabinet ministers to every African country as part of the plan for building relations on the continent. Indian troops have also played key roles in United Nations peacekeeping missions in Africa. India hosted its first India-Africa Army Chiefs Conclave in March 2023…

ADF STAFF Al-Shabaab in late July launched nearly simultaneous attacks on the Somali villages of Buulo Xaaji and Harboole and targeted three military bases where members of the Somali National Army and Jubaland State paramilitary fighters were stationed. Jubaland President Ahmed Mohamed Islaam said more than 135 al-Shabaab fighters were killed and more than 80 wounded and “taken as prisoners of war” in the ensuing battle, Agence France-Presse reported. According to the SITE monitoring group, al-Shabaab said it killed 71 security forces and wounded more, although those claims could not be verified. Jubaland is a longtime hotbed of al-Shabaab activity.…