Features

ADF STAFF As a brutal civil war raged in neighboring Liberia in 1991, Sierra Leone’s long-standing government corruption and weakness inched the nation closer and closer to catastrophe. When the forces of Charles Taylor’s National…

ADF STAFF  |  Photos: AFP/Getty Images Sudan was in a hopeful position after shaking off 30 years of brutal, autocratic rule in 2019. A vicious dictator had been toppled, a new prime minister was talking about forming a more…

ADF STAFF Soldiers in the Tunisian Army were in the village of Kesra in July 2021, taking on duties that once seemed unimaginable. At the village’s health center, Soldiers armed with rifles stood guard outside, while military medics…

ADF STAFF In Frederick Forsyth’s 1974 novel, “The Dogs of War,” a band of mercenaries slips into a small, fictional African nation at the direction of a Western tycoon bent on deposing the nation’s dictator to exploit valuable platinum.…

In Russia’s frenzied attempt to flex its muscles, get access to natural resources and increase its geopolitical relevance, it relies heavily on private military companies (PMCs). This strategy produces a small foreign footprint and offers…

BY CYRIL ZENDA A ruthless and shadowy insurgent group has taken root in northern Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province. The Islamic State-aligned militants, known as Ansar al-Sunna — “supporters of the tradition” — emerged in October 2017…