ADF

ADF STAFF In early March, the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) retook sections of Omdurman from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The reconquest marked one of the SAF’s few victories after months of humiliating retreats and territorial losses since fighting broke out nearly a year ago. Once seen as a force to be reckoned with, Sudan’s army has spent 11 months struggling — and often failing — to maintain control over vital national territory. This includes losing much of the Darfur region, most of the capital region and large swaths of the agricultural El Gezira region. When the war began, the…

ADF STAFF Nine crew members aboard a chemical tanker headed from Côte d’Ivoire to Cameroon were abducted by pirates in January as the ship sailed near Equatorial Guinea. Piracy is one of many sea crimes prevalent in the Gulf of Guinea, and observers say emerging technologies can benefit countries struggling to protect their waters. Nigeria, for example, once was designated as a piracy hot spot by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB). However, the country’s investment in technology-based infrastructure has helped it address piracy, illegal fishing, oil theft, drug and weapons trafficking, and other crimes. “The Nigerian Navy has continuously acquired new…

ADF STAFF The Islamic State group (IS) has turned to cryptocurrencies to move money from places such as Somalia and South Africa to fighters elsewhere on the continent. Private donations, known as “sadaqah” in Arabic, make up one of IS’s largest sources of revenue. Although much of this money moves through the informal system known as hawala, some IS supporters use digital currencies such as Bitcoin or Tether to transfer money quickly while avoiding detection by international agencies seeking to disrupt terror financing, according to Beatrice Berton, an analyst with the European Union Institute for Security Studies. The Counter ISIS…

ADF STAFF Since its creation in 2016, Nigeria’s disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) program has sought to rehabilitate former Boko Haram fighters and usher them back into society. However, a lack of funding and capacity have made it a struggle to keep the former militants from returning to the forest and to extremism. Borno State-based security analyst Zagazola Makama said hunger has become a major issue in the capital, Maiduguri, where former insurgents and their families live together in camps with internally displaced persons (IDP). “Many of those who repented had complaints of hardship, poor living conditions and lack of…

ADF STAFF With smoke grenades providing cover, a platoon of Soldiers from Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia and Tanzania exchanged fire with violent extremists and searched a makeshift village, building by building. A Kenyan Air Force F-5E Tiger II jet fighter flew close to the ground to discourage further fighting before helicopters arrived to evacuate a casualty. The platoon needed just 28 minutes to completely clear the village of militants. The dramatic scene in Kenya on March 7 marked the conclusion of Justified Accord 2024, the largest military exercise in East Africa. “Everyone has made new friends and should be very proud…

ADF STAFF A dengue fever outbreak killed nearly 600 people in Burkina Faso in October 2023. A stream of disinformation followed. Social media users, including many believed to be backed by the Russian government, began attacking work by Target Malaria, a not-for-profit research organization that fights mosquito-borne illnesses. The group, which is supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has worked to prevent malaria in Burkina Faso since 2012. But social media users falsely accused the group of spreading disease. “When will Africans understand that Bill Gates is a criminal?” wrote one user on X. “He is involved in…

ADF STAFF Niger’s announcement that it will suspend military cooperation with the United States is reverberating across the region, with observers fearful that Sahel security will further deteriorate. Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane, a spokesman for Niger’s National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP), made the announcement on national television on March 16. The move came after a meeting with a U.S. delegation that included Gen. Michael Langley, commander of U.S. Africa Command, and Molly Phee, assistant secretary of state for African affairs. The U.S. and Niger are continuing diplomatic discussions to clarify the future of the U.S.-Niger security…

ADF STAFF As piracy, illegal fishing and human trafficking continued to plague East African waters, navies from 11 African nations, the United Kingdom and United States participated in Cutlass Express 2024 (CE24). Djibouti, Kenya and the Seychelles hosted the annual maritime security exercise in late February and early March. Seychellois President Wavel Ramkalawan was a guest of honor at the opening ceremony. The event, held primarily in the Western Indian Ocean, was sponsored by U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and facilitated by U.S. Naval Forces Africa (NAVAF) and the U.S. 6th Fleet. “This exercise shows our mutual and unwavering commitment to…

ADF STAFF After months of relative calm, a surge of new attacks by the Islamic State-Mozambique (ISM) terror group is driving waves of people from their homes in the Cabo Delgado province. Thus far in 2024, more than 99,000 people, including 61,492 children, have fled their homes in Cabo Delgado, the charity group Save the Children reported on March 5. Of the 70,000 people who fled to the Nampula district to the south, 85% were women, reported the United Nations Children’s Fund. “There are repeated reports of beheadings and abductions, including multiple child victims,” the charity said in a statement,…

ADF STAFF As the Islamic State group (IS) has shifted its focus to Africa, South Africa has emerged as a locus of funding for the group’s operations on the continent — a situation that the country’s leaders say they are working to resolve. IS reportedly has cells in Durban and Cape Town that funnel money into its operations elsewhere on the continent. Those cells raise money through illicit activities such as ransom kidnappings, money laundering and extortion. The group’s African financial operations have become more important in recent years as its core Middle East operations have shrunk due to military…