Africa Defense Forum
ADF is a professional military magazine published quarterly by U.S. Africa Command to provide an international forum for African security professionals. ADF covers topics such as counter terrorism strategies, security and defense operations, transnational crime, and all other issues affecting peace, stability, and good governance on the African continent.

Reintegrating Former Extremists

ADF STAFF | Photos by Reuters If any country should know about the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of enemy fighters, it would be Uganda with its experience with the Lord’s Resistance Army. Joseph Kony’s Lord’s…

A Deadly Enigma

ADF STAFF The proliferation of armed groups in Africa’s second-largest country has destabilized the nation for decades, but an incident in December 2017 brought renewed attention to the dangers present in the Democratic Republic of the…

‘Ethnic Stacking’ Fuels Coups

Long-serving dictators have many tricks to help them hold onto power. One is a process known as “coup-proofing,” or building armed forces that will not rebel. Political scientist Philip Roessler said leaders attempt to coup-proof a…

Sale Helps Put Eyes in the Sky

ADF STAFF  |  Photos by TECH. SGT. ASHLEY NICOLE TAYLOR/U.S. AIR FORCE The United States has sold six MD 530F helicopters to the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) that can engage in attack, scout and close air support missions for the East…

Sudan’s Cinema Flickers Back to Life

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Talal Afifi has worked for years to revive Sudanese cinema, which languished through three decades of authoritarian rule. With the fall of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir, he sees new hope.  When Afifi attended a…

U.S., Sudan IMPROVE Diplomatic Relations

VOICE OF AMERICA During a historic visit to Washington, D.C., Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said one goal looms above all others as he leads the country’s transitional government: bringing peace to the war-ravaged nation.…