ADF

ADF STAFF A four-month joint operation by Interpol and Afripol involving 25 countries helped stop cybercrime schemes that steal from vulnerable people and hurt national economies. Africa Cyber Surge II began in April 2023. By August, authorities had arrested 14 people on charges of running online scams based in countries including Cameroon, Mauritius and Nigeria. The operation came after the first Africa Cyber Surge in 2022. Both were a reminder that the rapid spread of the internet and smartphone technology across Africa has happened, in many cases, without the necessary protections to guard against online scammers and other malicious actors,…

ADF STAFF With cybercrime growing rapidly across Africa, the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) plans to launch a Directorate of Cyber and Electronic Warfare Operations to protect the nation’s military from cyberattacks and to expand the country’s ability to detect and shut down online crime. The GAF is part of Ghana’s Joint Cybersecurity Committee, created in 2020 to identify and respond to cyber threats.  Ghana ranks among the top countries in Africa for cybersecurity. It is one of only 14 countries to sign the African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection. The International Telecommunication Union’s Global Cybersecurity Index…

BIRD STORY AGENCY Malawi announced it will use drones to protect elephants from poachers in some of its wildlife reserves.  The drones will be used for surveillance in Nyika, Kasungu, Nkhotakota, Majete Vwaza and Liwonde wildlife reserves.  Malawi relies on forest guards to patrol regions that separate elephants from developed areas to make sure no poachers enter the reserves. The drones allow greater surveillance and quicker response times.  “It is envisaged that the use of drones in wildlife conservation will bring new dimensions in both protection and research,” Malawi’s Ministry of Tourism spokesperson Joseph Nkosi said. The drones also will…

ADF STAFF As the number of coups grows across Africa, economists are tracking the cost in terms of slowed growth and lost investment. They’re also looking at recent history to predict the economic impact on West Africa.  The United Nations Development Programme published a study in July 2023, “Soldiers and Citizens: Military Coups and the Need for Democratic Renewal in Africa,” that shows how the costs of coups add up. The study found that the coups “discouraged investors and curtailed economic activities.” It added that the impact of coups is felt at all levels of the economy. “Food and essential commodity…

ADF Staff It was a life filled with firsts. Maj. Gen. Constance Edjeani-Afenu of the Ghanaian Armed Forces (GAF) was a trailblazer as a military officer, peacekeeper and diplomat.  She died in 2022, but her memoir, “Lady in Boots,” was published and released during an event at Burma Camp in September 2023.  The late general’s sister, Akofa Edjeani, said she hopes the book can be distributed to secondary schools across Ghana to inspire the next generation of female leaders.  “To the youth out there, especially females … do not be afraid,” Edjeani told the Ghana News Agency. “Know what you want,…

KENYA DEFENCE FORCES Members of Kenya’s Quick Reaction Force (QRF) and the Brazilian Jungle Warfare Mobile Training Team completed a three-week jungle warfare training course in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).  Both units served in the U.N. Stabilization Mission in the DRC. Each unit has specific skills to share relating to operating in challenging terrain and conducting counterinsurgency operations.  “Jungle warfare presents unique challenges that require specialized skills and tactics,” said Lt. Col. Ambrose Mwabili, commanding officer of the Kenyan QRF. “By sharing our experiences and learning from the Brazilians, we hope to become even more effective…

ADF staff A report by the Institute for Security Studies warns that withdrawing peacekeeping missions in Africa could create a significant security gap, leading to more violence and worsening humanitarian conditions. The report, published in October 2023, noted that since the withdrawal of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali began in July 2023, insecurity has surged. “Conflict between militants and the national army has reignited, and militant attacks have increased,” the report said. “Mali’s fragile security situation could regress to 2012 levels when jihadists tried to seize several key towns, including Timbuktu.” For more than 60 years, peacekeeping…

THE UNITED NATIONS The United Nations under-secretary-general of peace operations has underscored the need for stronger, more consistent and unified support from member countries for the organization to achieve its key peacekeeping goals. Growing national divisions, combined with increasingly complex conflicts, pose a formidable challenge to peacekeeping and the maintenance of security, Jean-Pierre Lacroix told ambassadors in the Security Council chamber. “Peacekeeping is not a magic wand to help a country return to stability, but with the support of a unified international community, political processes and peace agreements have been implemented,” Lacroix said. He emphasized that U.N. peacekeeping operations continue…

Defenceweb Four United Nations peacekeeping missions in Africa are working to prevent and stop disinformation campaigns aimed at undermining mission credibility. MONUSCO in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), MINUSCA in the Central African Republic, MINUSMA in Mali and UNMISS in South Sudan are involved in the campaigns. The missions in the DRC and Mali began shutting down in 2023. The initiative is designed to fight back against falsehoods that trigger tensions, violence and death, the world body noted. The U.N. is monitoring how misinformation, disinformation and hate speech can affect health, security and stability, and undermine progress toward…

ADF STAFF Shipowners operating in the Gulf of Guinea received a piracy alert in June 2023 after pirates attacked a Swiss bulk carrier vessel and injured some of its crew off Conakry, Guinea. Four criminals with weapons boarded the ship and stole money from a safe before fleeing, according to TradeWinds, a shipping news source. It was one of the latest piracy incidents recorded in West Africa after years of declining attacks, including 81 in 2020, 34 in 2021 and just three in 2022.  To address piracy, illegal fishing and other sea crimes, Benin, Nigeria and Togo in mid-September 2023…