Ghana

ADF STAFF Decades of simmering ethnic tensions in the northern Ghanaian town of Bawku recently boiled over into armed violence. Security forces have been deployed, and the conflict has captured the attention of the country and raised…

ADF STAFF People walk freely between Ghana and Burkina Faso where the towns of Paga and Dakola are joined. Aside from the rickety metal barriers and gate that cut across the main road, there is little indication of where one country ends…

ADF STAFF Porous borders and weak enforcement have turned certain regions into highways for international drug trafficking, which in turn fuels insurgencies and conflicts. West Africa in particular has become the transit hub for drugs…

ADF STAFF It is illegal for fishing vessels to discard unwanted fish in Ghanaian waters, but the practice continues, causing waste, environmental degradation and lost income for artisanal fishermen. According to a recent report by…

ADF STAFF Threats in the coastal waterways of Africa have multiplied in recent years. Smuggling, piracy and oil bunkering all occur in the shallow waters that snake from the ocean to the interior of the continent. These threats cannot be…

ADF STAFF The spread of extremist violence in West Africa gave this year’s Exercise Flintlock an air of urgency, as counterterrorism training took center stage. Ghana Armed Forces Col. Richard Mensah, commander of the Joint Military…

ADF STAFF Along their northern borders, Gulf of Guinea countries have experienced repeated incursions by extremists crossing over from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. Faced with rising pressure from Sahel-based extremists, Gulf countries…

ADF STAFF In Ghana’s northeast corner, residents of border communities such as Sapelliga and Bawku see citizens of Burkina Faso fleeing violence and many wonder when it will descend on them. “Everyone in this community is worried because…

ADF STAFF To prepare security forces to face a wide range of evolving threats, Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo announced that the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) will establish a war college. Established with money from the Ghana Education…

ADF STAFF With more than 600 million people online and millions more soon to join them, African nations face growing demand to safeguard cyberspace against hackers, scammers and extremists. Ghana provides a model for how to do that. In…