Burundi

ADF STAFF Intensifying gun battles and explosions drove Prudent Kahindo and her three children from their home in February. When they arrived at an informal camp for displaced people outside the city of Goma, they found their lives were no…

ADF STAFF After years of dormancy, the Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF) is ready to deploy its collective military, police and civilian specialists when called upon, the force’s leadership announced recently. Speaking during the annual…

ADF STAFF In the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the word “Wazalendo” has become nearly as ubiquitous as the sight of armed men in fatigues. They are local militiamen who have partnered with the Congolese…

ADF STAFF In returning to his hometown of Bujumbura, Frederic Gateretse-Ngoga awoke every morning with a strong sense of place and purpose. It was November 2022, and he was back in Burundi’s capital amid the familiar colors, smells,…

ADF STAFF Years of military missions have left civilian and political factions frustrated with intractable violence from a stew of armed groups operating in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Now the East Africa…

ADF STAFF Nearly 2,000 kilometers from the seat of the government in Kinshasa, the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been beset by violence for decades. Recent tensions have surged with the revitalized M23 rebel group,…

ADF STAFF Somalia has asked the United Nations to delay a planned drawdown of 3,000 African Union peacekeepers for three months to allow its security forces time to regroup after a series of extremist attacks. The African Union…

ADF STAFF For months, the citizens of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have witnessed a major military buildup, cease-fires and negotiations — all aimed at ending the M23 rebels’ reign of terror. With precious little…

ADF STAFF As violence has escalated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), an array of African forces entered the country with promises of restoring peace. The latest addition, the Southern African Development Community (SADC),…

ADF STAFF After 18 years and three multinational peace missions, Somalia is getting ready to take full control of its own security. The 1-year-old African Union Transitional Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) is preparing to withdraw 2,000…