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.
Browsing Tag

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Face of the Modern Mercenary

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.…

Russia’s Shadow Soldiers

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…

Rebels on Run From Uganda, DRC Joint Mission

ADF STAFF Operation Shujaa, which means hero in Swahili, is making gains that offer hope it can live up to its name. After years of terrorism by hundreds of armed groups that live in the dense forests near their shared border, Uganda…

Warped Messages

ADF STAFF In Madagascar, a webpage in the Malagasy language shows a cartoon of a Russian bear awakening from hibernation to save Africa from hyenas.  In Libya, an Arabic language website hails Saif al-Islam, son of the late dictator…

Uganda, DRC Join Forces to Remove Rebel Group

ADF STAFF For several years, Uganda has offered to help its neighbor, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), fight a bloodthirsty band of Islamist militants based in its restive northeast region. The group, known as the Allied…

Conflicts Impede War on COVID-19

ADF STAFF Based in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, Dr. John Nkengasong works near one of the world’s deadliest conflicts. Despite a national state of emergency, the fighting has not impacted the day-to-day operations of the Africa…

Africa Races to Test COVID-19 Treatment Drugs

ADF STAFF On March 18, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced a large, international study of four potential COVID-19 treatments. “We have called this study the Solidarity trial,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom…

Pandemic Pushing Agritech Innovations

ADF STAFF Wilson Lang’at owns a 2.5-hectare farm in the village of Koiyet, which lies in Kenya’s verdant southern Rift Valley. For years, his primary source of income was trading cows while he grew maize as a smaller side business.…

DRC Looks for Answers in Its Restive East

ADF STAFF A sharp rise in deadly attacks in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has coincided with a link to ISIS. There are 122 armed groups operating in the densely forested region that borders Uganda to the east,…