ADF

ADF STAFF Landlocked countries in Africa pay higher prices for goods and often struggle to meet the needs of citizens. This situation fuels resentment and can lead to cross-border conflict. Kenyan Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi believes something must be done to address the concerns of the 378 million people living in 16 landlocked countries in Africa. In a recent speech at the United States International University, Nairobi, Mudavadi called for the creation of a working group to address the unique challenges faced by these nations. “The geo-strategic constraints that landlocked countries…

ADF STAFF Just a few kilometers from one of the world’s most deadly hotspots for militant violence — the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) — the people of Burundi are struggling with an insurgency of their own. Increasing attacks by the RED-Tabara rebel group have revealed a pattern of killing civilians and claiming credit for the attacks on social media but denying civilians were involved. The offensive has elicited outrage from a broad spectrum of Burundians. “The government of Burundi once again deplores the behavior of Rwanda which maintains, trains and arms the terrorist group RED-Tabara,” government spokesman…

ADF STAFF The African Union named Senegalese human rights expert Adama Dieng to a newly created post: special envoy for Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities. It’s an intimidating job considering the violent conflicts raging across the continent. The announcement was made on April 7, a day on which leaders across the continent and the world gather in somber reflection to observe the anniversary of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Normally, African Union chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat marks the event at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This year, however, he attended the 30th anniversary ceremony in Kigali, the Rwandan…

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…