ADF

ADF STAFF As kidnapping for ransom has become a source of income for terrorists and criminals in parts of the Lake Chad Basin, authorities say that several hundred victims remain in captivity. A new report from the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) recommends a three-pronged effort to stop the attacks. Some of the governments in the region already are cooperating. In early April, Cameroon said it had received five civilians from Chadian authorities. The civilians were abducted this year from Cameroonian villages near the Chadian border. Victor Boukar, one of the former hostages, told Voice of America (VOA) that heavily…

ADF STAFF A new four-part investigation by the Pulitzer Center Rainforest Investigations Network and The Africa Report shows how trees felled in the Democratic Republic of the Congo make their way across borders with the help of official corruption and a lack of oversight. The report details how mahogany and other species of trees are transported into Kenya and Uganda. A substantial amount of the DRC’s wood makes its way to furniture manufacturers in those two countries. The investigation shows how the industry thrives on corruption. “If you want to be in the timber trade, you need to know a…

ADF STAFF Although many Rwandans feel their country has made significant progress since the 1994 genocide, tensions between Hutu- and Tutsi-led rebel groups continue to this day and have fueled violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Over a four-week period in February and March, ethnic violence in the eastern DRC forced about 250,000 civilians to flee to Goma, capital of the North Kivu province. The conflict has hampered humanitarian efforts — the Tutsi-led M23 rebel group attempted to down a United Nations observation drone near Goma in February — and caused food prices to soar. The M23…

ADF STAFF Gunfire echoed between sleek glass buildings in Addis Ababa on April 12. The city’s relative peace was shattered by a shootout between security forces and three members of an Amhara militant group. One of Ethiopia’s many ethnic and regional conflicts had spilled into the capital city, exposing ongoing nationwide security concerns. “The extremist group members … were intercepted after being under surveillance by security forces. They were planning a terrorist attack in our city,” Ethiopian police said in a statement, noting that one civilian was killed along with two of the militants. The men were members of the…

ADF STAFF Months after the United Nations Security Council voted to lift a weapons embargo on Somalia, experts are weighing the impact of the move. For more than 30 years, Somalia was under the embargo that was created to prevent warlords and militias from arming themselves during the nation’s disastrous civil war. It was amended several times over the years in response to the worsening al-Shabaab crisis. In the final 10 years of the embargo, Somalia needed Security Council authorization to buy or receive certain high-caliber weapons, equipment and vehicles. Officials complained that this put them at a disadvantage to…

ADF STAFF The Ghana Armed Forces in March participated in Exercise Sea Lion 2024, a timely weeklong maritime security exercise designed to sharpen the nation’s maritime security skills. Ghana’s Chief of the Defence Staff, Lt. Gen. Thomas Oppong-Peprah, said in opening remarks that the exercise aims to build the interoperability for future operations against ongoing security threats such as piracy and terrorism. “The recent spate of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and other transnational crimes at sea has made it imperative for the Ghana Navy to test its operational readiness and resilience in confronting these criminals,” Peprah said. There…

ADF STAFF Sierra Leonean President Julius Maadi Bio in early April declared a national emergency over rampant drug abuse, particularly of kush, a powerful, synthetic psychoactive drug that has killed hundreds of users. Known for its long-lasting euphoric effects, kush is traditionally made from marijuana, herbs, disinfectants and fentanyl. But users in Sierra Leone have begun mixing those ingredients with ground human bones, which are said to make the drug more powerful due to their high sulfur content. Experts do not believe this ingredient has a significant effect on the drug potency. Also known as “the zombie drug,” kush can…

ADF STAFF Intensifying gun battles and explosions drove Prudent Kahindo and her three children from their home in February. When they arrived at an informal camp for displaced people outside the city of Goma, they found their lives were no less threatened. “Life is extremely complicated here, we have no tarpaulin and no food,” she told The New Humanitarian magazine. “We ask for help because people here risk dying from hunger.” For years, Goma, the largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has attracted the displaced in search of safety and humanitarian aid. Makeshift displacement camps already…

ADF STAFF The Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 disrupted grain shipments to countries across Africa. In response, Russia has begun shipping free grain to six African countries, but those shipments come with strings attached. According to Zimbabwean economist Godfrey Kanyenze, Russia is exploiting the suffering of African citizens for its own benefit. Kanyenze is the founding director of Zimbabwe’s Labor and Economic Research Institute. “It’s strategic in the sense that Russia realizes these countries are in need, and basically takes advantage of that specific need,” Kanyenze told CNN. “It’s geopolitics at play. The major string is to control…

ADF STAFF A few minutes after recess ended, gunmen emerged from the surrounding forest and began firing their weapons near the school in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. “I heard explosions and other loud noises,” a 12-year-old student identified as Bahati told the nongovernmental organization Save the Children. “We fled, without even thinking. Everyone fled into another direction.” In the chaos that followed, people from the community escaped to Goma. “People walked for two days,” Bahati said. “People were separated from their families. Children without parents and parents without their children.” The attack on Bahati’s school was part…