Well, "Africa" is rather broad for a discussion like this. The answer can be either, depending on the situation. Some African governments have a better prepared military to deal with issues. If unrest broke out in Cairo, I'm confident that Egypt could handle it on their own. But in developing African nations, third party involvement is probably necessary. Very often, an underdeveloped military is not capable of handling unrest. Many conflicts are even started by corruption within the country's military. So, a third party has to intervene to stop a military force that can't police itself.

Africa is an absolutely HUGE continent. So the answer is yes or no depending on the particular nation and situation. The phrasing of this particular question is really impossible to answer with a simple yes or no.