weapons trafficking

ADF STAFF Authorities seized 3,000 rifles, hundreds of rounds of ammunition and antitank missiles from a fishing vessel in the Gulf of Oman on January 15. The Iranian weapons were destined for the Houthi militia in Yemen. Eleven…

ADF STAFF For years, Iranian weapons have wound up in Somalia, where they are sold to violent extremist groups such as al-Shabaab and the Islamic State. Through financial incentives, Iran established a proxy network in Somalia and has…

ADF STAFF A group of herders were tending to their cattle in a pasture near Airamne village in Nigeria’s restive northeastern borderlands when the shooting began. Boko Haram fighters emerged from their camps in Gajiganna forest on…

ADF STAFF On January 16, the Somali government announced a major victory. Its military had liberated Harardhere, an al-Shabaab stronghold on the Indian Ocean coast that the terrorist group had held for a decade. Formerly a base for…

ADF STAFF As Ukraine acquires weapons and materiel from NATO and other Western countries, Russia is pushing disinformation using social media to say that these weapons are falling into the hands of terrorists and criminals in Africa and…

ADF STAFF South African officials are vowing to dismantle terror cells that have links to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). “We will not allow our territory to be used to fund terrorism in other countries,” said Mondli…

ADF STAFF Extremist groups are again trafficking weapons from Libya and other sources into the Sahel, signaling a potential escalation of violence. Analysts say the increase comes after a period of relatively low trafficking levels. “The…

ADF STAFF Authorities in Liberia, Tanzania and Togo will work with United Nations officials throughout September to get illicit small arms and light weapons out of circulation. The U.N. Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) is…

ADF STAFF A decade after it was declared a supermarket for illegal arms traffickers, Libya once again has become a source of illegal weapons flowing into conflicts across the Sahel and neighboring coastal states. “The high demand for arms…

ADF STAFF Some call cattle rustling one of the oldest crimes in human history. In Africa, cattle rustling dates back centuries and once was considered a cultural practice, sanctioned and organized by tribal elders and traditional leaders.…