ADF

ADF STAFF The images of a wrecked unmanned aerial vehicle that Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) posted to its social media channels in late January confirmed what many observers have suspected: Iran is supplying weaponized drones to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). Through images posted online by the RSF, experts were able to identify the vehicle as an Iranian-made Mohajer-6 combat drone. The RSF said on X, formerly Twitter, that it had shot down three such drones recently. The Mohajer-6 can carry up to four air-to-surface missiles along with surveillance equipment. It has a maximum speed of 200 kilometers per…

ADF STAFF Eleven West African countries are designated as future fisheries conflict hot spots. These places could see clashes over marine resources in the next six years due to fish stocks depleted by illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. According to a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) report, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, Senegal, and São Tomé and Príncipe are highly likely to experience future conflict between foreign industrial trawlers, artisanal fishermen and local fishing communities. Other such designated areas on the continent are Mozambique and…

ADF STAFF Three military-led countries — Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger — dealt a blow to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) when they announced that they will leave the regional bloc. It was one of several blows that have weakened regional bodies around the continent, as the organizations have struggled to deal with complex security and economic challenges. The three junta-led countries quit ECOWAS on January 28 after the bloc had suspended and sanctioned them in an attempt to pressure the military rulers to return power to democratically elected leaders. In a statement the next day, the…

ADF STAFF Somaliland is an autonomous breakaway state in northern Somalia that has persistently pursued independence for 33 years. It has state institutions, a military, and functioning political and economic systems. The United Kingdom granted British Somaliland independence as the State of Somaliland on June 26, 1960. The state voluntarily united with Italian Somalia to form the Somali Republic on July 1, 1960, which is considered Somalia’s Independence Day. Somaliland’s independence lasted “only for five days,” researcher Natasha Matloob wrote for Modern Diplomacy magazine. “After that, it merged with present-day Somalia. This merger received serious backlash from many in Somaliland,…

ADF STAFF The United Arab Emirates has deployed troops to train Chadian Soldiers in warfare and how to operate donated Emirati equipment, including at least six armored vehicles that were delivered last year. News of the UAE troops’ deployment to Chad emerged in January. According to Military Africa magazine, the UAE is expanding its efforts to enhance its military and political presence in Chad — and around the Sahel region — amid the civil war raging in Sudan. Chad and the UAE signed a military cooperation agreement in June 2023. “The UAE has sent a shipment of military vehicles and…

ADF STAFF In its ongoing battle for control of Sudan, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) rely heavily on gold smuggled out of the country and its close ties to Russia’s Wagner Group, now known as Africa Corps, according to a United Nations analysis. “Complex financial networks established by RSF before and during the war enabled it to acquire weapons, pay salaries, fund media campaigns, lobby, and buy the support of other political and armed groups,” U.N. experts wrote. Sudan’s smuggled gold eventually finds its way to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where it enters the global market. Sudan’s gold…

ADF STAFF For some African nations, 2024 appears to be a year of economic reckoning as debts to China and other lenders come due. “People went and got low-interest loans by the bucketload,” Nonkululeko Nyembezi chair of South Africa’s Standard Bank, Africa’s largest bank by assets, said recently at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “We now have to contend, country by country, with how to support countries.” Nine African countries started this year in debt distress, with another 15 at high risk of distress and 14 more categorized as moderate risk, according to the World Bank. Ethiopia, Ghana…

ADF STAFF Recent research shows a dramatic rise over the past year in misinformation generated by artificial intelligence and presented as authentic news that, experts say, puts at risk international peacekeeping operations in Africa. At last count, more than 675 websites publish what one group of experts describes as “unreliable” news articles generated by artificial intelligence (AI) — articles that frequently present falsehoods and misinformation as the truth. NewsGuard, a group that monitors misinformation efforts, identified the sites. Researchers found AI-generated content published in 15 languages, including Arabic, Chinese, English, French and Portuguese, on sites whose names make them seem…

ADF STAFF More than a dozen bombings in and around Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, in November and December 2023 revealed a clear pattern — telecommunications company Hormuud Telecom was being targeted. Bombs killed at least three employees and destroyed offices, communications towers and vehicles. Analysts believe al-Shabaab has targeted the country’s largest telecommunications provider for refusing to pay “taxes” to the terrorist group. “I presume this was because they did not want to pay taxes,” Jarle Stig Hansen, a Norwegian academic, told The Africa Report magazine. “It’s becoming tougher for al-Shabaab, but this battle over taxes in Mogadishu hasn’t finished yet.…

ADF STAFF Counterinsurgency efforts in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province have gained momentum since international forces killed the leader of the Ahl al-Sunna wal-Jama’a (ASWJ) extremist group in August. Some experts now say that continuous operations by the Mozambique Defense Armed Forces (FADM), Southern African Development Community (SAMIM) and troops from Rwanda have significantly reduced attacks by ASWJ, which is linked to the Islamic State (IS) group, and other terrorist outfits. Maj. Gen. Tiago Alberto Nampere, commander of the Mozambican Army, said during a mid-December press conference that security was re-established in about 90% of Cabo Delgado districts affected by terrorism. Authorities…