ADF

ADF staff | photos by afp/getty images When Interpol coordinated international raids under Operation Jackal, it targeted Black Axe, a Nigeria-based organized crime group. In the 2022 sweep, authorities arrested 75 people, searched 49 properties and intercepted bank accounts worth nearly $1.3 million. Authorities also seized 12,000 cellphone SIM cards and identified 70 additional suspects. Investigators in 14 countries on six continents participated: Argentina, Australia, Côte d’Ivoire, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Nigeria, Spain, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States. A few months later in May 2023, Interpol continued Operation Jackal in 21…

ADF STAFF Despite an amazing array of natural resources, the Central African Republic (CAR) has endured years of civil war, poor governance and corruption. Traffickers, terrorists, mercenaries and thieves are stealing its wealth of diamonds, gold and high-grade lumber on an industrial scale. More than a third of the country is forest, contributing 13% of its export revenue, according to Enhancing Africa’s Response to Transnational Organised Crime (ENACT), a European Union project studying organized crime in Africa. But that’s only the revenue from legitimate logging operations. Untold amounts of furniture-grade hardwood leave the country illegally, usually shipped to China to…

ADF STAFF For years, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been plagued by international gangs slaughtering and selling parts from endangered animals.  “The DRC, which shares borders with nine countries, serves as an important transit point for the movement of trafficked parts,” the environmental news agency Mongabay reported in 2022. “The Central African nation, which hosts the largest swath of Congo Basin rainforest, is also a source country for illegal wildlife goods.” In one case, authorities conducted investigations for three years before raiding a “stash house” in the city of Lubumbashi, seizing 2 metric tons of ivory valued…

DEFENCEWEB Tunisia’s Air Force has taken delivery of eight Beechcraft T-6C Texan II trainer airplanes from the United States. Tunisian Pilots began training on the planes at Textron Aviation Defence facilities in Wichita, Kansas, in late 2022. The T-6Cs will serve as the new primary training aircraft for the Tunisian Air Force and will be flown by No. 13 Squadron at Sfax Air Base/Sfax-Thyna International Airport. The use of the aircraft will be supported by a suite of devices, including a ground-based training system, an operational flight trainer and a computer-based training lab. Tunisian Air Force students do their basic…

DEFENCEWEB Kenya has rededicated the patrol vessel KNS Shupavu after a local overhaul performed by Kenya Shipyards Ltd. at a new facility at Mombasa Shipyard at Mtongwe Naval Base. The refurbishment began in November 2021 and, according to Kenya Shipyards Ltd., involved replacing major components such as engines, generators and other machinery, and upgrading the vessel’s electrical systems, navigational equipment and other onboard systems.  Workers painted the ship and renovated its living quarters. A new crane was added to launch and recover boats. Mombasa Shipyard already had started work on the KNS Shupavu when the shipyard officially opened in December…

DEFENCEWEB The United States has announced an $80 million grant to supply four Bell 412EP helicopters to the Zambia Air Force. Gen. Michael Langley, commander of U.S. Africa Command, made the announcement in mid-September 2023, saying that the grant also covers three years of service, parts and training. Maj. Gen. Oscar Nyoni, Zambia Air Force deputy commander, said the grant will help the force better support Zambia’s domestic needs, regional security and United Nations peacekeeping missions abroad. U.S. Ambassador to Zambia Michael Gonzales said, “The contribution that the general announced today is not just helicopters. It is providing a solution…

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…