Last week in Africa, ACLED records electoral violence across multiple regions in Cameroon, as the military launched lethal raids on villages in the Anglophone regions. Meanwhile, Boko Haram militants carried out their deadliest attack so far this year in Nigeria.
In Egypt, violence between government forces and the Islamic State (IS) intensified in North Sinai. Multiple IS and military fatalities were reported when militants launched attacks on state forces in the Sheikh Zuweid area. In retaliation, Egyptian police conducted two raids in Al Arish, reportedly killing 17 IS fighters. The military also shelled locations in Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah on 12 February, followed by three consecutive days of airstrikes in Rafah, Sheikh Zuweid, and Bir Al-Abd.
In Mali’s Mopti region, a recent surge in intercommunal violence continued, as Fulani and Dogon ethnic militias launched attacks on opposing civilian populations. In the week’s deadliest attack, suspected Dogon militiamen raided the village of Ogosaggou and killed at least 31 Fulani villagers. The village has been targeted in several raids over the past year, including an attack that left more than 100 dead in March 2019.
Cameroon’s Anglophone regions continued to experience high levels of violence last week amid attempts by Ambazonian separatists to disrupt national elections held on 9 February. Low voter participation was reported across the Anglophone regions, underpinned by ongoing violence and a separatist-imposed week-long shutdown (RFI, 17 February 2020). Separatists clashed with state forces across Fako, Ndian, and Kupe-Manenguba departments in the Southwest, as well as the Northwest’s Mezam department on election day. Seven Ambazonian separatists were killed by state forces as they attempted to burn polling stations at Bangem in Kupe-Manenguba department. Following the election, military forces launched multiple raids on Anglophone villages. In the worst attack, military forces allegedly killed dozens of civilians, mostly women and children, in a raid on the village of Ngarbuh in the Northwest region. ACLED also records electoral violence was in the Far North, Adamaoua, and West regions. In the Far North, supporters of the National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP) party damaged the local Elections Cameroon (ELECAM) office and the Division headquarters in Bourrha town, following news that the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) had a lead in local voting. In the West region, two people were killed during a clash between rival CPDM and Cameroon Democratic Union (CDU) supporters near Foumban.
In Nigeria, Boko Haram launched a deadly ambush at a closed checkpoint near Auno village in Borno state, reportedly killing 30 people. The victims were mostly travelers who had been forced to stay in their cars overnight after failing to reach Maiduguri before the military checkpoints had closed.
Finally, the Allied Defence Forces (ADF) continued their incursion into the Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with a dozen fatalities reported during attacks on civilians in Mambasa territory. Following one such attack, state military forces (FARDC) managed to capture 40 ADF fighters. ADF militants also staged a deadly attack on civilians near the Onokoko mine in North Kivu’s Beni territory.
© 2020 Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED). All rights reserved.
