ADF

Somali police officers trained in Turkey are fighting on the frontlines of the country’s war against al-Shabaab, leading counterterrorism and special operations units against the group that controls swaths of territory in central and southern Somalia. In mid-October, more than 300 members of Somalia’s national police force returned home after spending months of intensive counterterrorism, public safety and leadership training at the Turkish Police Academy in Ankara. The program is part of a bilateral deal aimed at refining Somalia’s internal security and fight against violent extremism. “This partnership reflects our shared commitment to a safer and more stable Somalia,” Brig. Gen. Ahmed…

Too often, maritime security takes a back seat to land-based concerns. It’s easy for the problems roiling the vast seas to remain out of sight and out of mind.  Many African countries are realizing they no longer can afford to take this position. The blue economy is an engine for growth, responsible for $300 billion in commerce and supporting 50 million jobs. Oceans are critical to food security with 200 million African people relying on seafood for part of their diet.  But this resource is under attack. Foreign trawlers take advantage of areas of weak enforcement to decimate fish stocks.…

Rear Adm. António Duarte Monteiro, chief of staff of the Cabo Verdean Armed Forces, spoke in Praia on May 5, 2025, during the opening ceremony of the 14th iteration of Obangame Express, a multinational maritime exercise involving nations along the Gulf of Guinea. Cabo Verde hosted the exercise for the first time. Monteiro’s remarks have been edited for space and clarity. Despite the progress made in recent years, the security challenges faced in the Gulf of Guinea and mid-Atlantic regions have become increasingly multifaceted and interconnected. In addition to the well-known threats — such as piracy; narcotics, arms and human…

Effective communication is key to the success of military training events such as Obangame Express, which builds cooperation to fight sea crimes such as illegal fishing, piracy and trafficking. Nearly 20 African nations from Cabo Verde to Namibia participated in the two-week exercise. The largest multinational maritime exercise in Western and Central Africa ended May 16, 2025. It included visit, board, search and seizure training in Senegal. Participants practiced tactical ship entries and learned search and evidence-handling procedures. Chief Petty Officer Mass Jallow of the Gambian Navy said the exercise benefited his team. “We come from different countries, different training…

The specters of terrorism, piracy and smuggling loomed as more than 1,000 participants from 20 nations trained to conduct multinational maritime security operations in the Western Indian Ocean during the 15th iteration of Exercise Cutlass Express. The East African exercise, sponsored by U.S. Africa Command and facilitated by the U.S. 6th Fleet, was held February 10-21, 2025, in Mauritius, the Seychelles and Tanzania. Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Mhona, chief of Training and Combat Readiness for the Tanzania People’s Defence Force, said the event emphasized the need for regional, continental and international collaboration. “When we talk about terrorism, human trafficking and cybercrime,…

The Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) in March 2025 launched Operation True Guardian in the nation’s west to “restore public trust, bolster national security, and ensure the safety and stability of Liberia’s borders and coastal areas,” the AFL announced. The operation began with patrols in the Western Region, which includes Grand Cape Mount, Bomi and Gbarpolu counties. Patrols will continue indefinitely and establish forward operating bases in each county. Security forces will focus on hot spots for crime and other security threats. “This operation comes at a crucial time when Liberia is facing complex security threats, particularly in the western…

Nigerian military sources confirmed to Reuters that the Mali-based terrorist organization Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) killed one Nigerian Soldier during an attack in western Kwara State, which borders Benin. The attack was JNIM’s first in Nigeria and the latest example of Sahelian terror groups extending their reach across West Africa. In the Sahel, JNIM competes fiercely with Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP) for control of territory across Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, with a special focus on the Liptako-Gourma region where the three countries meet. ISSP has grown from about 400 fighters in 2018 to more than 3,000 today.…

A criminal gang kidnapped 16 merchant vessel crew members in the Gulf of Guinea and held them near the beach at Takwa Bay, Nigeria. Nigerian Navy Special Boat Service commandos scoped the kidnappers’ hideout, then entered. Soon, shots rang out. “Drop your weapons!” a Nigerian Sailor shouted three times. “Get down!” In moments, commandos rescued the crew and dismantled the hijackers’ camp. The complex, simulated rescue was part of Crocodile Lift 2025, a joint maritime security exercise held with the French Navy at Naval Base Apapa in Lagos. The four-day anti-piracy exercise ended October 10. France deployed a Mistral-class helicopter…

Burkina Faso’s volunteer militias were created to supplement the government’s fight against the growing terrorist threat. Along the border with Côte d’Ivoire, however, those militia members are threatening the safety of civilians on both sides of the boundary. Nearly 70,000 Burkinabe citizens have fled their communities to shelter in northern Côte d’Ivoire. Many of them are Fulani herders, the ethnic group being targeted by militias known as Volunteers for the Defense of the Fatherland (VDP, using the French acronym) because many terrorists operating in the countryside also are Fulani. There is a direct connection between the ruling junta’s decision to…

Four years after Mali’s ruling junta invited Russian mercenaries into the country to fight terrorists, Mali now faces even more attacks and a fuel blockade while Russian forces scale back their battlefield involvement. Mali’s relationship with Russian forces has changed since the arrival of Africa Corps in June. Many Africa Corps’ fighters came from the former Wagner Group, which arrived in Mali in 2021 under the pretense of training Malian soldiers to fight the terror group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and Tuareg separatists now operating under the banner of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA). Although then-Wagner Group fighters helped…