West Africa

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 Piracy is drastically declining in the Gulf of Guinea, but experts say more can be done to eliminate the threat. The number of piracy incidents in the region fell from 81 in 2020 to 34 in 2021, when the Gulf of Guinea also…

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…

ADF STAFF Decades of warfare, corruption and ethnic conflict have left West Africa awash in small arms that continue to fuel instability and extremism across the region. Although numbers are difficult to pin down, some experts estimate…

ADF STAFF The world was shocked last year at the deaths of nearly 70 children in The Gambia that were linked to cough syrup from India. The medicines contained “unacceptable” levels of diethylene and ethylene glycol, and the children…

ADF STAFF In late 2022, Togolese gendarmes stormed a restaurant in a counterterrorism exercise that simulated a response to a terrorist attack. For Togo, this type of training has become all the more urgent as violence spreads from…

ADF STAFF Less than two years after Guinea’s military seized power from then-President Alpha Condé, the junta is facing a wave of protests. Violence erupted in the capital of Conakry in May with anti-junta demonstrators throwing stones…

ADF STAFF Crime organizations and terrorist groups have woven a complex trafficking network moving illicit goods such as assault-style rifles, ammunition, explosives and fake medicine throughout the Sahel region. Once used for…

ADF STAFF With cocaine trafficking at its highest recorded level, West Africa is battling both crime and addiction. The region has historically been a transit region for cocaine as it made its way from South America to Europe, but…

ADF STAFF Senior leaders from land forces across Africa gathered in Côte d’Ivoire in May for the 2023 African Land Forces Summit (ALFS). It was an opportunity to discuss the shared threats they face and the need for cooperation as…