Regional Overview – Africa 02 July 2018

Africa, Analysis, Civilians At Risk, Current Hotspots, Improvised Explosive Devices, Political Stability, Remote Violence, Rioting And Protests, Violence Against Civilians
Important developments in Africa in the week of June 24th included the Fulani violence in Nigeria and Benin; the high militant activity in Cameroon, Egypt and Mali; the tensions in CAR’s Nana-Gribizi prefecture; and the continued violence in South Sudan tainting the progress made simultaneously at the negotiations’ table.…

IS After ‘Defeat’: Guerilla Tactics in the Desert

Analysis, Civilians At Risk, Ethnic Militias, Focus On Militias, Improvised Explosive Devices, Islamic State, Islamist Violence, Middle East, Political Stability, Violence Against Civilians
A particularly pressing question for policy-makers is the form and intensity of violence to expect from IS now that it lost its control of Raqqa, Deir-ez-Zor and Al-Bukamal. Since the defeat in Al-Bukamal (November 2017), IS has split into various groups.…

From the Mali-Niger borderlands to rural Gao – Tactical and geographical shifts of violence

Africa, Analysis, Civilians At Risk, Conflict Monitoring, Current Hotspots, Ethnic Militias, Focus On Militias, Fulani, Human Rights, Improvised Explosive Devices, Islamic State, Islamist Violence, Political Stability, Pro-Government Militias, Remote Violence, Rioting And Protests, Violence Against Civilians
In late April and early May, six massacres took place in the Mali-Niger border corridor. Presumed militants of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) carried out massacres against the Dawsahak community.…

Violence Against Civilians in Afghanistan: The Taliban and the Islamic State

Analysis, Asia, Civilians At Risk, Conflict Monitoring, Focus On Militias, Improvised Explosive Devices, Islamic State, Islamist Violence, Political Stability, Violence Against Civilians
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).…

Cameroon – October 2017 Update

Africa, Analysis, Improvised Explosive Devices, Musveni Regime, Political Stability, Rioting And Protests, Violence Against Civilians
Riots and protests witnessed an uptick in intensity in Cameroon in September as demonstrators voiced their opposition to perceived discrimination towards the Francophone regions of Cameroon. Relatively routinized opposition to President Paul Biya’s 35-year rule has coupled with calls for independence (VOA news, 1 October 2017) demonstrating the complex set of grievances that motivate citizens to take to the streets.…

Niger – May 2017 Update

Africa, Analysis, Boko Haram, Civilians At Risk, Improvised Explosive Devices, Islamist Violence, Remote Violence, Rioting And Protests, Violence Against Civilians
Violent activity in Niger has been sporadic over the last year and half, and its political nature has been generally divided by region. As the sparsely populated north east has remained nearly untouched over the recent period, the western areas, including the capital and along the south-east border of Nigeria’s Boko Haram stronghold of Borno State have had presence of protest and battles, respectively.…