Somalia

ADF STAFF For almost 10 years, the Danab Brigade, a unit of the Somali National Army, has been countering al-Shabaab attacks and winning a reputation as an elite fighting force. Named after the Somali word for lightning, the…

ADF STAFF The Somali Army in mid-August launched a major offensive against al-Shabaab in central Somalia as troops with theAfrican Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) gradually withdraw from the country. The operation…

ADF STAFF Security forces liberated parts of central and southern Somalia and handed over six forward operating bases to Somali security forces during the first phase of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia’s (ATMIS) troop…

ADF STAFF More than 30 Kenyan security officers were killed by improvised explosive devices (IED) in more than 10 attacks over a three-week period in June. Officials suspect that al-Shabaab was behind the attacks in the northeastern…

ADF STAFF Two reports shed light on the growing connection between Islamic State group affiliates in Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). For the first time, the United Nations Group of Experts on the DRC highlighted…

ADF STAFF Dark clouds of fear gathered in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, after Russia’s recent decision to end its Black Sea grain deal. Bakers, traders and hungry customers prepared for another surge of pain as Russia’s war on Ukraine…

ADF STAFF A dramatic rise in attacks by al-Shabaab extremists has scuttled plans to reopen the border between Somalia and Kenya, which closed in 2011. Kenya’s Interior Cabinet Minister Kithure Kindiki made several visits to the region in…

ADF STAFF Tanzanians Abdirahman Shaffi Mkwatili and Sadam Jafari Kitia were lost in northern Kenya, hundreds of kilometers off course when security agents arrested them on July 12. They had nearly reached the country’s border, but it was…

ADF STAFF Kenyan security forces have increased their operations along the country’s 680-kilometer border with Somalia in response to recent attacks by al-Shabaab. Al-Shabaab, which has suffered repeated defeats by the Somali National…

ADF STAFF Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has vowed to wage “total war” against al-Shabaab, but the extremist group continues to launch brazen attacks targeting civilians and security forces. Between May 27 and June 23, the…