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.

Interpol to Open Addis Ababa Office

ADF STAFF Interpol announced plans to open a permanent office at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Sudan Tribune reported that Interpol’s head commander in Ethiopia, Girmay Kahsay, said Interpol has reached an…

Ghana Navy Frees Hijacked Oil Tanker

REUTERS The Ghana Navy announced it freed a tanker that was hijacked off the coast of Nigeria and arrested eight pirates believed to be responsible for seizing it. Pirate attacks have increased in West Africa in recent years, raising…

15-Minute Ebola Test APPROVED

BBC NEWS AT BBC.CO.UK/NEWS The World Health Organization (WHO) has approved the first rapid blood test for Ebola. It should allow patients to be identified, isolated and cared for as quickly as possible to bring an end to the outbreak…

Namibia Switches to Electronic Voting

REUTERS When Namibians voted in November 2014, it marked a historic event as Africa’s first electronic election. Despite an 11th-hour challenge from the opposition party over the devices, the election commission used 4,000 voting machines…

Somalia Offers Amnesty to al-Shabaab Members

Zakariya Ismail Hersi, a former senior al-Shabaab commander, speaks during a press conference at the presidential palace in Mogadishu, Somalia. VOICE OF AMERICA Somalia’s president has renewed an offer of amnesty to members of the…

Kenya Building No-Frills Vehicle

REUTERS On the edge of Nairobi, two doors down from a gleaming display of Germany’s luxury Porsche cars, another showroom offers Africa’s answer to the continent’s potholed roads. It’s called the Mobius. It has no flashy dials, alloy…

Device Designed to Keep Sharks Away

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE In the blue waters off Cape Town, South Africa, a revolutionary experiment with an electronic barrier seeks to exploit the supersensitivity of sharks’ snouts to keep swimmers safe. The technology has been developed by…

Ethiopia Rising to Middle Class

Julia Rainer/IPS With annual economic growth rates of more than 10 percent and attractive investment conditions due to low infrastructural and labor costs, Ethiopia is eagerly trying to rise from the status of a low-income to a…