ADF

Since the 2022 resurgence of the M23 rebel group in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has sought to defend its sovereignty with a military strategy that has relied heavily on proxies, coalitions, mercenaries and allied forces. It has produced a confusing mix of combatants far from the capital, Kinshasa. Neither of the regional forces from Eastern and Southern Africa have brought stability, while local pro-government militias called Wazalendo (Swahili for “patriots”) and M23 rebels have fought each other and terrorized civilians with impunity. Continuing to look for ways to supplement the Congolese armed forces (FARDC), the government…

In a sweeping operation that covered multiple East African countries, Afripol recently announced the arrest of 37 terrorism suspects and the destruction of weapons, including a missile and antitank armaments. The operation in November and December 2024 netted members of the Islamic State group (IS) and al-Shabaab, along with other foreign fighters. Working with Interpol, Afripol authorities made arrests in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Somalia and Tanzania. In the DRC, police arrested four alleged members of the Allied Democratic Forces and two associates. They also captured and destroyed a missile and antitank device abandoned by terrorists. In…

Maj. Hans Radegod leads the Seychelles Coast Guard on a seemingly overwhelming mission: stopping the flood of heroin and other illegal drugs washing over his islands. Radegod’s tiny fleet of four vessels patrol the nation’s 115 islands and 491 kilometers of coastline. They are pitted against traffickers from Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan who use the Seychelles as a transshipment point for thousands of kilograms of heroin bound for African nations each year. Heroin trafficking is taking its toll on Seychelles, where an estimated 10% of the nation’s nearly 100,000 residents are addicted to the drug. That’s the highest rate of…

After his Rwanda-backed M23 rebels captured Goma in late January, Corneille Nangaa strode into the city with the proud gait of a conqueror. He wore combat fatigues and a tactical helmet, a smile beaming through his thick, gray beard. As M23’s new leader, Nangaa has emerged as the face of a new, more broadly ambitious insurgency called the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), or Congo River Alliance. The former government official has a jovial demeanor, but it gave way to a dark foreboding when he shared his vision for the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “Our objective is neither Goma nor…

From the shores of Eyl, a fishing community in Somalia’s autonomous Puntland State, locals watched with growing anger the lights of Chinese fishing trawlers illegally catching tuna, sharks, rays, lobsters, shrimp and other marine life in their waters. They seethed as illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing depleted their fish stocks while waste from the industrial trawlers polluted their shores. Illegal fishing threatens the livelihoods of artisanal fishermen in Eyl and around the country, which loses an estimated $300 million annually to the scourge. By late November 2024, local fisherman Liban Hassan and a band of others had seen enough.…

Members of the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) and Russian mercenaries now known as Africa Corps are accused of killing nine people, including women and children, in an attack on a vehicle in Mali’s Segou region in January. Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, spokesperson for the coalition of Tuareg groups in northern Mali, told Reuters that the victims were headed to a refugee camp in Mauritania when they were attacked. It was the latest in a series of atrocities committed by FAMa and Russian mercenaries since the United Nations peacekeeping mission, MINUSMA, left the country more than a year ago. Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam…

In late January, South Africans discovered their national weather service had been taken offline by a cyberattack from an unknown source. The attack that took down the weather service on January 26 followed a failed attempt the day before, according to South African officials. The breach did not block the service from using its weather forecasting technology, but it did block the service’s ability to report aviation and marine forecasts and shut down its email system and website. The cyberattack also affected Mozambique, Zambia and other countries that rely on South Africa for weather forecasts. The attack against the South…

Russia has expanded its military presence in Libya by transferring personnel and equipment to the Maaten al-Sarra base near the borders with Chad and Sudan, an Italian news agency reported. The base had been abandoned since 2011. In December, Russia deployed Syrian soldiers to reestablish the base, from which Moscow can directly supply Burkina Faso, Mali and Sudan, the news agency Nova reported. Russian technicians and Syrian troops have restored runways and warehouses at the base, which still needs new housing, warehouses, control towers and security fences. A major military convoy aligned with Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, who leads the…

Many of the Nigerian security forces who have fought Boko Haram and Islamic State-affiliated terrorists struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health challenges long after serving their country on the battlefield. In the course of duty, some members of the military experience or witness terrible violence that can induce long-term effects such as severe anxiety, intrusive thoughts, flashbacks and nightmares. Chioma Onyemaobi, lead psychologist for the Abuja-based HumAngle Foundation, recently warned of the often-overlooked psychological and emotional challenges that can come with counterterrorism operations. “It is a huge psychological burden to fight an insurgency,” she wrote in a…

Iran and Russia are seeking to capitalize on the chaos in Sudan as they look for new locations to establish military bases. Both countries were longtime supporters of the Syrian regime led by Bashar al-Assad that rebels toppled in December. Iran and Russia each had military bases in Syria that they used to project regional influence. The countries began negotiating with Sudan last year, as rebels began turning the tide of the Syrian war. Iran and Russia both back the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), which has fought for control of the country against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since…