ADF

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…

ADF STAFF Somali national forces and Jubaland regional forces in early March killed scores of al-Shabaab fighters during operations in the Lower Juba region. The battles were mainly in Bahar Saaf, Haji, Malaylay, Turdho and other heavily forested areas where the terrorists operate. “The national forces, alongside Jubaland’s heroes, have engaged the Khawarij for four consecutive days,” Abdirahman Yusuf Aladala, Somalia’s deputy minister of information, said in a report by Somali news website Hiiraan Online. “We have successfully eliminated over 50 militants, detained 20 and reclaimed numerous territories.” Somali national forces, regional governments and clan militias, locally known as “Ma’awisley,” have stepped up…

ADF STAFF Col. Alpha Yaya Sangaré flashed a proud smile in front of a roomful of people at the Alioune Blondin Beye Peacekeeping School in Bamako, Mali, on February 24. The occasion was a signing event for his new book, “Mali: The Challenge of Terrorism in Africa.” However, once the ruling military junta discovered portions of the book that criticized their tactics and abuses against civilians, they issued a news release on March 1 to denounce it. “Certain paragraphs of this book carry alleged serious incriminations of violation of human rights by the FAMa (the Malian military) with the complicity…