ADF

Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, a Gambian diplomat, was appointed president of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission in 2022. Previously, he was ambassador and permanent representative of The Gambia to the African Union and ambassador to Ethiopia. He spoke on May 28, 2023, to mark ECOWAS Day on the 48th anniversary of its founding. His remarks have been edited for space and clarity. Every year on the 28th of May, we celebrate ECOWAS Day to honor the vision of our founding fathers and the huge sacrifice of our member states and citizens in creating a single socioeconomic…

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE After decades on the sidelines, African countries are venturing into the space industry, hoping to reap rewards in agriculture, disaster prevention and security. Côte d’Ivoire, which hosted a “NewSpace Africa Conference” in April 2023 organized by the African Union, has announced the creation of a space agency and plans to build the country’s first nanosatellite by 2024. Nanosatellites have a mass of 1 kilogram to 10 kilograms. About the same time, Kenya’s first working satellite was put into orbit by a SpaceX rocket launched from the United States. The two countries follow African pioneers South Africa, Nigeria, Algeria…

ADF staff After 18 years and three multinational peace missions, Somalia is taking full control of its own security. The African Union Transitional Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) is withdrawing troops from the embattled Horn of Africa nation. The African Union was withdrawing troops gradually and strategically, sector by sector, with an eye toward ending ATMIS by December 31, 2024. Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda contribute troops to the mission. As ATMIS troops withdrew, Somali troops were finishing training abroad. The goal was to have 15,000 Soldiers ready by the end of 2023, Hussein Sheikh-Ali, national security advisor to Somali…

ADF staff Senior land forces leaders gathered in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, in May 2023 for the African Land Forces Summit to discuss shared threats and the need to cooperate as Sahel-based extremists push toward the West African coast.  “The land forces need to come together and work together,” said Maj. Gen. Christopher Musa, Infantry Corps commander of the Nigerian Army. “Asymmetric warfare requires the services of everybody — a whole-domain approach, all-regional approach. That’s why it’s important for us to meet, look at all the challenges we are facing and the best way to go through it.”  Military chiefs and…

In the Senate chamber in Abuja, Nigeria, four nominees to lead military service branches took turns making the case that they were fit for the job. Each presented his credentials and outlined a vision for improving security in the country. “Under my watch, the armed forces shall continue to serve the Nigerian people dutifully and in line with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and other extant laws of the federation,” Chief of Defense Staff Maj. Gen. Christopher Musa told senators in July 2023. Afterward, senators questioned the nominees for three hours before confirming all four. This might seem…

Lt. Gen. Dennis Sitali Alibuzwi has served in the Zambia Army for more than 40 years. During his service he has held various command and staff positions. He has served in United Nations peacekeeping missions in Angola, Darfur, Ethiopia/Eritrea and Sierra Leone. In 2019, he was appointed deputy commander of the army, and in 2021 he was appointed army commander. He spoke to ADF from Zambia Army Headquarters in Lusaka. This interview has been edited for space and clarity.  ADF: Zambia has been a major contributor to peacekeeping missions with nearly 1,000 peacekeepers serving in various U.N. missions. Why is…

ADF STAFF When eight pirates attacked the fishing vessels Aliman and Shenghai-2 off Sierra Leone’s coast, perhaps they thought they would kidnap crew members and extort ransoms for a hefty payday. Maybe they thought one or both of the boats would serve their ongoing criminal enterprises. What they could not have known is that they were about to sail into the jaws of “Operation Killer Whale” as the Liberian National Coast Guard (LCG) waited to their south. The Sierra Leone Navy had contacted Liberia, which watched as the captured Shenghai-2 entered its territorial waters. When it did, coast guard authorities…

At first glance, a football tournament, a literacy drive, food distribution and a medical clinic might not seem like part of the fight against violent extremism. But several contingents in the multinational force in northern Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province are finding such operations useful in a region typically lacking such services. The Southern African Development Community Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) is “engaging local communities and leadership through various community building programs aimed at assisting the local communities and leadership to regain normalcy and confidence lost through terror activities that marred the Cabo Delgado Province over a period of years,” Maj.…

ADF STAFF A member of the Tunisian Armed Forces drifted toward the ground after a free-fall jump from a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter on May 31, 2023, at the Ben Ghilouf Training Area in Tunisia. He participated with about 8,000 others from 18 nations in African Lion 2023, U.S. Africa Command’s largest annual combined, joint exercise, from May 13 to June 18. The exercise also took place in Ghana, Morocco and Senegal. African Lion’s goal is to improve partnerships between African, U.S. and other international militaries; increase interoperability; and strengthen shared defense capabilities and cooperation to counter transnational threats and violent…

ADF STAFF In returning to his hometown of Bujumbura, Frederic Gateretse-Ngoga awoke every morning with a strong sense of place and purpose. It was November 2022, and he was back in Burundi’s capital amid the familiar colors, smells, hustle and commotion to host a regional dialogue of people gathered to advance a new approach to conflict resolution called the Principles for Peace (P4P). A mere 15 kilometers away, the eastern reaches of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) loomed — a blood-soaked battleground awash with multiple armies, rebel groups, extremist militants, scores of armed militias, and millions of civilians…