Mozambique – November 2017 Update
Mozambique witnessed a dramatic increase in political violence in October 2017. The spike in violence stemmed from an apparent Islamist attack in the Cabo Delgado region, located in the far north of the country.… Details
Kenya – November 2017 Update
Despite the spectre of the 2007 post-election violence looming over Kenya’s elections this year, the level of events and fatalities have proven to be more comparable to the 2013 elections than those of 2007.… Details
Ethiopia – November 2017 Update
On Friday, 4 August, Ethiopian officials lifted the 10-month long State of Emergency that was declared last year during an unprecedented wave of popular mobilization and anti-government protests. Enhanced government powers during the State of Emergency brought mass detentions, politically motivated criminal charges, and numerous restrictions on people’s movement and communication (HRW, 7 August 2017).… Details
Conflict Summaries – October 2017
Burundi This month saw Burundi fall to the lowest level of events and second lowest reported fatality count since before the presidential elections in 2015. October 2017 also represents the continuation of a shorter term downward trend in fatalities from a 2017 high of 34 in each of June and July to 13 this month.… Details
Al Shabaab and Boko Haram: Patterns of Violence
Which group is the most violent in Africa? A recent report exploring Africa’s active militant Islamic groups aimed to tackle this question. The report, produced by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS), argued that Somalia’s Al Shabaab has eclipsed Nigeria’s Boko Haram, to become “Africa’s deadliest group”.… Details
Zambia – October 2017 Update
In the period between President Sata’s death in October 2014 and Lungu’s election in August 2016, Zambia saw an increase in political activity. Protest levels rose, as the declining copper prices and stalling economy affected workers across the country, and then became increasingly violent as the election approached (ACLED Trends Report, September 2016).… Details
Togo – October 2017 Update
Riots and protests reached their highest levels for over two years in September as demonstrators protested the rule of President Faure Gnassingbé. Despite comparatively fewer protests to other countries in Africa, the scale of participation has been large with as many as 800,000 people demonstrating on 19 August (BBC News, 21 September 2017), though the true figure is likely to be lower.… Details
Libya – October 2017 Update
Since August 2017, activity by the Islamic State in Libya has begun to increase with fears that they are starting to regroup and stage a comeback (Bloomberg, 12 September 2017). Militants are reported to be operational through a “desert army” that was established after being pushed out of Sirte last year by Misratan militias.… Details