Sahel

ADF STAFF In the immediate aftermath of the Niger military coup in late July, Russia’s formal and informal responses were at odds. The Kremlin’s spokesperson called for the immediate release of detained Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum…

ADF STAFF One violent extremist group has nearly doubled the territory it controls in Mali after the ruling junta severed ties with international peacekeepers and empowered brutal Russian mercenaries. The ramifications are roiling…

ADF STAFF Nigeria deploys drones at border crossings to increase security along its porous frontier and to identify potential threats while they’re still several kilometers away. The Orion drones, manufactured by the French-American…

ADF STAFF Terrorists of the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) kidnapped Boubacar Moussa in Niger in 2019 and forced him to fight for them in Mali. Moussa was with JNIM when Mali experienced the first of its two recent…

ADF STAFF In little more than two years, Niger has exemplified the power of presidential security forces — and what can happen when that power is unchecked. In March 2021, Niger’s presidential guard quelled an attempted coup by elements…

ADF STAFF As Niger’s military junta has held the deposed president in isolation, the country has become increasingly isolated by the international community — one of the many consequences of unconstitutionally seizing power. Nigerien…

ADF STAFF Members of the Malian armed forces and Russian Wagner Group mercenaries reportedly are sowing terror and committing “grave human rights abuses.” The reports of atrocities come from multiple sources: a United Nations panel of…

ADF STAFF The number of terrorist attacks in Africa rose from 330 in 2000 to 2,365 in 2018, according to the Global Terrorism Database. The sevenfold increase of attacks led to higher military spending in affected countries and their…

ADF STAFF Armed men kidnapped at least 66 women, girls and babies who were out searching for food in northern Burkina Faso, near the Mali border, in early 2023. The victims were likely forced to scour the bush for food due to…

ADF STAFF Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for an attack that killed six civilians and three Soldiers at the Pearl Beach Hotel restaurant in Mogadishu, Somalia, in early June. The attack, which started with a bomb blast and ended in…