Of the fourteen United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions currently active around the world, half are based on the African continent. Of these, five—those in Somalia[1], Mali, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo– have ongoing or recently renewed mandates, and a force of over 10,000 personnel, including soldiers and police.…
Since the beginning of April there has been a dramatic escalation of violence in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic[1]. Most of this activity has been focused in the PK5 or KM5 neighbourhood – a Muslim area that is considered the economic heart of the city. The first clashes erupted when a local…
Following the signing of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement on 21 December 2017, conflict activity in South Sudan has reduced. This period in South Sudan corresponds the dry season, when the conflict is usually expected to resume (ACLED, November 2017), however, the totals of monthly fatalities since the agreement have remained significantly lower than in…
Late last month in Kabul, an Islamic State (IS) suicide bomber detonated himself outside of a voter registration centre in the predominantly Shiite neighbourhood of Dasht-e-Barchi. At least 69 civilians were reportedly killed and another 120 were reportedly injured in the blast (Pajhwok, 23 April 2018). This was the latest in a series of major…
Over the past weeks, Socotra has been the site of an unprecedented wave of demonstrations denouncing the militarisation of the island and the encroaching presence of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Protests have intensified in early May, after hundreds of troops belonging to the UAE arrived on the island taking de facto control over the…
Political violence and protest events in Africa over the week of May 6th showed several key developments and points of concern. First, attacks hit Burundi and Nigeria, confirming recent warnings of an escalation of the violence in these countries. In Burundi, violence has marred the period leading up to the disputed Constitutional referendum, due to…
Levels of political violence and protest events decreased throughout South and Southeast Asian. From a country perspective, the levels of political violence levels dropped most significantly – by 37% – in Afghanistan, yet remained static in India and slightly increased in Pakistan. In Afghanistan, the number of battles between government forces and the Taliban increased…
Both Lebanon and Iraq held elections last week, with the number of riots and protests as well as election-related violence rising, respectively, in each case. Demonstrations in Iran were focused on “Teacher’s Week” while a smaller subset of demonstrations were focused on the United States’ pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal. Demonstrations were held…
On Monday, May 14, the US moving of its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on the 70th anniversary of the formation of Israel was met with demonstrations and violence on the border with Gaza. While demonstrations and violence in the lead up to Monday have been ongoing, Monday marks the deadliest day of violence in…
As Turkish and allied Syrian faction violence has decreased after their March 2018 capture of Syria’s Afrin border region from Kurdish forces, questions remain about Turkey’s plans for further operations in Kurdish-controlled areas of northern Syria. While the Afrin operation, known as “Operation Olive Branch,” was not Turkey’s first military foray into Syrian territory,[1] the…