Darren Olivier
@darren.africandefence.net
4.1K followers 6.5K following 440 posts
Director at African Defence Review (@africandefence) Covering African conflicts with a specific focus on Southern Africa. Email: [email protected] Signal: https://signal.me/#eu/9yYQ7ONQJ8KYa71byz4avvZuSICtMLWim0AlDOYqYwwZhOSZaVpGKLUzYPBqrJAM
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Reposted by Darren Olivier
jacksapoch.bsky.social
NEW: Since October 2023, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit has released dozens of 3D animations illustrating alleged Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iranian sites

The style is now unmistakable: satellite zoom-ins, black & white wireframes, and red-textured houses - a new visual language of war
Reposted by Darren Olivier
jacksapoch.bsky.social
An impressive case study in the use of photogrammetry and satellite imagery to shed light on the logistics and procedures behind large scale atrocities (in this case in Assad's Syria)
Reposted by Darren Olivier
govpritzker.illinois.gov
I will not back down.

Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power.

What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?
Donald Trump Truth Social Post: Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers! Governor Pritzker also.
Reposted by Darren Olivier
donmoyn.bsky.social
The elimination of USAID is a moral atrocity and all involved made a choice to enable, and then lie about, ending the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in the world.
MAE SOT, Thailand (AP) - Mohammed Taher clutched the lifeless body of his 2-year-old son and wept. Ever since his family's food rations stopped arriving at their internment camp in Myanmar in April, the father had watched helplessly as his once-vibrant baby boy weakened, suffering from diarrhea and begging for food.
On May 21, exactly two weeks after Taher's little boy died, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sat before Congress and declared: "No one has died" because of his government's decision to gut its foreign aid program. Rubio also insisted: "No children are dying on my watch."
That, Taher says, "is a lie."
Reposted by Darren Olivier
defenceweb.co.za
Is South Africa turning into a mafia state? A mafia state is characterised by government institutions, including the police and military, becoming so intertwined with organised crime that they serve a criminal enterprise rather than the citizens. 
defenceweb.co.za/security/civ...
With rising political assassinations, is South Africa becoming a mafia state? - defenceWeb
Is South Africa turning into a mafia state? A mafia state is characterised by government institutions, including the police and military, becoming so
defenceweb.co.za
Reposted by Darren Olivier
Reposted by Darren Olivier
Reposted by Darren Olivier
defenceweb.co.za
Encroachment on and adjacent to SANDF bases and facilities has again made it to Parliamentary questions with an ANC Member of Parliament given an action roadmap, starting this in October, to “comprehensively” address challenges in this regard.
defenceweb.co.za/sa-defence/s...
Task team to tackle informal settlements encroaching on military facilities - defenceWeb
Encroachment on and adjacent to SA National Defence Force (SANDF) bases and facilities has again made it to Parliamentary questions with an African National
defenceweb.co.za
Reposted by Darren Olivier
defenceweb.co.za
The Department of Defence and Military Veterans’ head office in Pretoria is in critical condition, with water flooding the floors, sewage spiling from the sinks, and aircons and escalators that are out of order.
defenceweb.co.za/sa-defence/s...
Sewage spilling from the sinks: Department of Defence’s HQ swamped - defenceWeb
The Department of Defence and Military Veterans’ head office in Pretoria is in critical condition, with water flooding the floors, sewage spiling from the
defenceweb.co.za
Reposted by Darren Olivier
lucyjgaynor.bsky.social
When is a trial no longer a trial? When is a defendant no longer a defendant? When is a court no longer a court?

I wrote about #Kabuga, the politics of #justice, and the significance of justice spaces, for @justiceinfo.bsky.social

www.justiceinfo.net/en/150638-th...
The many endings of the Kabuga trial
When is a trial no longer a trial? When is a defendant no longer a defendant? When is a court no longer a court?
www.justiceinfo.net
Reposted by Darren Olivier
lucyjgaynor.bsky.social
#ICC judges convict Abd-Al-Rahman, Janjaweed militia leader, of 27 counts of crimes against humanity & #warcrimes in Darfur, #Sudan, in 2003-04.

Judge Korner made a point of naming #victims from each incident. There was a significant 🇸🇩 presence in the gallery.

www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
ICC convicts Sudan ex-militia leader Ali Kushayb of Darfur war crimes
The 27 guilty verdicts are the first handed down by The Hague-based court over war crimes in Sudanese region in 2000s.
www.aljazeera.com
darren.africandefence.net
That’s not the post, someone created that a day later. This is the actual post and alt-text: pdsls.dev/at://did:plc...
PDSls
Browse the public data on atproto
pdsls.dev
darren.africandefence.net
Nice to see the ICGS Sachet visiting South Africa.

I’d like to see South Africa working harder to strengthen its maritime cooperation with India, as well as with Brazil, by expanding IBSA & the associated IBSAMAR exercise, and by doing joint patrols. It’s a natural strategic partnership.
Reposted by Darren Olivier
rvinews.bsky.social
NEW REPORT | IDDIR IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES RESEARCH IN ETHIOPIA

The latest EWNET seminar explored how iddir can inform policy, civic engagement and theory-making grounded in local experience.

Read the report: bit.ly/42uGG4a
Reposted by Darren Olivier
defenceweb.co.za
An Abakan Air Il-76 transport aircraft that arrived in Upington last week was carrying general non-military cargo, including civilian helicopters and aerobatic aircraft, according to South Africa’s Department of Transport.
defenceweb.co.za/aerospace/ae...
Blacklisted Russian Il-76 carried non-military cargo to Upington - defenceWeb
An Abakan Air Il-76 transport aircraft that arrived in Upington last week was carrying general non-military cargo, including civilian helicopters and
defenceweb.co.za
Reposted by Darren Olivier
Reposted by Darren Olivier
defenceweb.co.za
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) held a Chief of the SANDF Medal Parade at Air Force Base Ysterplaat in Cape Town on Friday 3 October, where 144 members were honoured for 30 and 40 years of dedicated service.
defenceweb.co.za/sa-defence/s...
SANDF honours long-serving members at Ysterplaat parade - defenceWeb
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) held a Chief of the SANDF Medal Parade at Air Force Base Ysterplaat in Cape Town on Friday 3 October, where
defenceweb.co.za
Reposted by Darren Olivier
lucyjgaynor.bsky.social
30 minutes until the #ICC’s first (and only) judgement re: violence in #Sudan in the early 2000s!

Link to stream in the reply below 👇🏻
lucyjgaynor.bsky.social
In 2005 the #UN Security Council referred the “Situation in #Darfur” to the #ICC.

Today, at 2pm 🇳🇱 time, after 3 years & 74 witnesses, the ICC’s only #Sudan trial will end.

Alleged #Janjaweed leader Abd-Al-Rahman will hear the judgement on his 31 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Reposted by Darren Olivier
deanwingrin.bsky.social
As a reminder, the SAMIDRC mandate was terminated in March 2025 and the South African troops only commenced returning to SA in mid-June. The SANDF vehicles, weapons and equipment is still in Chato (Tanzania), awaiting return to SA, along with the final HQ/security contingent.
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Reposted by Darren Olivier
deanwingrin.bsky.social
SAMIDRC update:
On 2 Oct, Chief SANDF Gen Maphwanya received a call from the Force Commander that they've finally secured the signature of the SADC Secretariat, back loading will be finalised in the next few weeks.
As a reminder...
/1
Reposted by Darren Olivier
meredithmeredith.bsky.social
📣 Germany's close to reversing its opposition to mass surveillance & private message scanning, & backing the Chat Control bill. This could end private comms-& Signal-in the EU.

Time's short and they're counting on obscurity: please let German politicians know how horrifying their reversal would be.
signal.org
We are alarmed by reports that Germany is on the verge of a catastrophic about-face, reversing its longstanding and principled opposition to the EU’s Chat Control proposal which, if passed, could spell the end of the right to privacy in Europe. signal.org/blog/pdfs/ge...
signal.org
Reposted by Darren Olivier
richardstupart.com
Pencil sketch from a photo I took in Sumy the day after Russia's Easter Sunday attack.

For someone who has generally preferred photography, sketching has been a helpful way to work through what was a confusing set of days.

#urbansketch
Pencil sketch of one of Sumy State University's buildings after the Palm Sunday missile strike in 2025. The building facade is peppered with shrapnel impacts and much of the brickwork is exposed and shaken.
Reposted by Darren Olivier
lucyjgaynor.bsky.social
Anwar S. - a suspected former #Shabbiha militia leader in #Aleppo, #Syria - was arrested in #Germany last week on charges of Crimes Against Humanity: killing and torture.

Assad used Shabbiha both for the commission of violence, and the evasion of responsibility.

www.reuters.com/world/middle...
German police arrest Syrian man suspected of crimes against humanity
German police arrested on Tuesday a Syrian man suspected of committing crimes against humanity, including killing and torturing, as a militia leader in 2011 in Aleppo, prosecutors said.
www.reuters.com
Reposted by Darren Olivier
aviationmarlene.bsky.social
Fouga CM.88 'Gémeaux' is a French twin fuselages flying testbed designed from the Fouga 'Sylphe' in the early 1950s. It was used for the development of Turbomeca turbojet engines such as the Marboré.
It was the first aircraft in the world to fly with a turbofan engine (Aspin I).