Command

MOGADISHU — U.S. Africa Command carried out airstrikes targeting al-Shabaab militants in Somalia’s Middle Shabelle region on Dec. 18, following clashes sparked by a militant assault on government and allied militia positions, the command said. The strikes occurred near Nur Dugle, approximately 215 kilometers northeast of Mogadishu. AFRICOM described the action as part of ongoing cooperation with Somali authorities to diminish the extremist group’s operational capacity. “AFRICOM, alongside the Federal Government of…

Breaking Barriers: Lt. Col. Mwagandi Paves the Way as KDF’s First Female Guard of Honour Leader NAIROBI, Kenya - A seismic shift happened in Kenya on Sunday when Lt. Colonel Faith Mwagandi stepped into the spotlight as the trailblazer—Van Gogh with a paintbrush of valor—becoming the pioneer woman to craft a Guard of Honour for the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) at a prominent national celebration. Commanding the troops during the 61st Mashujaa Day gala in Kwale, lodged on Kenya’s sunlit southern coast, the KDF recognized this…

Paris has confirmed the death of Baye Ag Bakabo, the head of the command who kidnapped our colleagues Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon on November 2, 2013 in Kidal in northern Mali. The information had been circulating since Wednesday, June 9, but was then not official. Several members of Baye Ag Bakabo's family had announced his death on social media, but neither Barkhane nor Elysee, who was contacted at the time, had confirmed. According to our information, Baye Ag Bakabo was killed near the town of Aguelhok where…