ADF

From coast to coast, Turkey is working to forge ties with African nations, often as a security partner for weapons purchases and military training, and as an investor in infrastructure projects. Turkey believes it can position itself as an alternative option able to negotiate sophisticated military deals without any of the drawbacks of partnering with China, Russia or traditional Western allies. “Ankara acts as a unique geopolitical hybrid: a NATO member with NATO-standard military capabilities, yet a diplomat that speaks the language of the Global South,” Göktuğ Çalışkan, a foreign policy analyst at the Ankara Center for Crisis and Policy…

Askia the Great ruled over the largest empire in West Africa’s history. In the late 15th century, his Songhai Empire swept from the Atlantic Ocean to what is now Niger.  One of his tools for expansion and rule was his navy, a rarity in Africa at that time. Born Askia Muhammad Ture I, he led the way for Africa to expand trade with Europe and Asia, and, bowing to the will of his army, made Islam a key component of his rule. He became known as Askia — “forceful one” — and is remembered today as Askia the Great, the…

CLUES This site, in what is now Kenya, was one of the most important Swahili cities in East Africa from the 10th to the 17th centuries. The settlement had two rings of walls, public and private buildings, tombs, and a palace complex and mosque. Domestic, civic and religious buildings were laid out in a grid street pattern within the inner walls. The space between inner and outer walls held modest houses where most residents lived. Evidence of luxury goods imported from China, India, Persia and Venice demonstrates the city’s role in international trade networks. ANSWER  The historic town and archaeological…

Lakurawa, which began as a self-defense force in northwestern Nigeria, has evolved into a Boko Haram-aligned terrorist organization, preying on civilians and imposing its own strict version of Islamic law wherever it goes. “Lakurawa now cooperates with Boko Haram and operates as a hybrid actor, blurring the line between religious extremism and organized crime,” analysts Taiwo Adebayo, Célestin Delanga, and Remadji Hoinathy wrote recently for the Institute for Strategic Studies (ISS). According to the researchers, Lakurawa operates primarily in Nigeria’s northwestern Sokoto and Kebbi states and in bordering regions of Benin and Niger. Tense relations with Niger’s ruling junta have…

As Russia’s war on Ukraine staggers into its fifth year, the Kremlin is turning to increasingly deceptive and unusual recruiting methods. While playing a first-person military simulation game called Arma 3, two young South African men met a recruiter named @Dash on the social platform Discord. After several conversations, they met in Cape Town before visiting the Russian consulate, according to documents viewed by Bloomberg news service. “There have been quite a few examples of Russia recruiting people from around the African continent, but this is the first time we’ve come across them using gamers,” Bloomberg senior writer Antony Sguazzin…

ADF STAFF About 160 suspected members of the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) terror group on January 11 attacked three factories and kidnapped four civilians, including a local official, in western Mali’s Kayes region. JNIM, like other terror groups in the Sahel, kidnaps for ransom to fund its operations, intimidate locals and gather intelligence. Kidnapping also is a way to forcibly recruit young people and skilled workers such as doctors and nurses. The kidnapping of local civilians for ransom is an evolving trend among these groups, which once relied more heavily on the kidnapping of foreigners for ransom. This change in…

To help Mauritania address growing security threats from the Sahel region and West Africa, the United States government in December 2025 donated a shipment of operational military equipment which will enhance field performance during upcoming military exercises, such as Flintlock 2026, which will be held in Libya and Côte d’Ivoire. Mauritanian political figure Daddai Bibaut noted that U.S. support has helped keep Mauritania free of terror attacks since 2011, although there are encroaching cross-border security threats, including those from the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) terror group. JNIM in August 2025 captured the Malian town of Farabougou, near the Wagadou…

More than 570 cybercriminals were arrested as part of a sweeping international operation aimed at stopping online fraud operations. Interpol’s Operation Sentinel, part of its African Joint Operation Against Cybercrime, focused on cybercrime that involved business email compromise, digital extortion and ransomware. Business email compromise is a technique that uses the identity of a trusted figure, such as a company officer, to trick employees into providing money or revealing corporate secrets. Digital extortion and ransomware are similar methods of stealing personal information or locking down a computer system and then demanding money from the victim to regain access. The monthlong…

Authorities in semiautonomous Puntland State are warning that collaborations between Somali pirate groups and the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen represent a major threat to maritime security in the Horn of Africa. The growing relationship between the Houthis and Somalia’s al-Qaida affiliate, al-Shabaab, includes ties to piracy and has resulted in pirate groups using more sophisticated weaponry and technology acquired from the Houthis. Mohamed Musa Abulle, deputy director of intelligence for the Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF), said that some Somali pirate groups have acquired state-of-the-art GPS satellite devices and weapons from Houthi militants and people aligned with the rebel…

One year into his retirement, a Colombian military drone specialist noticed a WhatsApp message: “Any veterans interested in working? We’re looking for reservists from any force.” The job was in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to a man who claimed to be a former air force colonel. On a follow-up call, however, the veteran learned that he would undergo a few months of training in Dubai before deploying to Africa to conduct tactical reconnaissance. He declined the offer after a friend in UAE warned him that the job likely was in one of the worst war zones in the…