Fact Sheet: Attacks on Civilians Spike in Mali as Security Deteriorates Across the Sahel
More than 60 people were killed in a suspected jihadist attack on a river boat near the village of Abakoira in Mali’s northern Tombouctou region…
Read more
ACLED is a leading source of real-time data on political violence and protest activity around the world. We regularly provide the media with the latest figures on conflict events and fatalities, commentary on trends and dynamics, insight into ACLED data collection methodology, and more.
For media inquiries, please contact the ACLED Communications team at [email protected]. For citation guidelines, please review our Terms of Use & Attribution Policy.
Specialists
Reach out to any of our data and regional specialists for expert commentary, media interviews, or background briefings.
General
Prof. Clionadh Raleigh
President & CEO
- Global conflict trends
- Conflict data
- Political violence in Africa
- Climate and conflict
General
Sam Jones
Head of Communications
- General media inquiries
- Political violence in the United States
Data Science
Dr. Katayoun Kishi
Head of Data Science
- Early warning
- Machine learning
- Natural language processing
- Conflict prediction models
Africa
Ladd Serwat
Regional Specialist
- Wagner Group activity and Russian foreign policy
- Conflict in the Great Lakes region
- Land and property-related conflict
Africa
Héni Nsaibia
Associate Analysis Coordinator
- Political violence in the Sahel
- Insurgencies
- Non-state armed actors
Europe & Central Asia
Nichita Gurcov
Regional Specialist
- War in Ukraine
- Russian politics
- Conflicts in post-Soviet countries
Latin America & the Caribbean
Sandra Pellegrini
Regional Specialist
- Latin America and the Caribbean
- Organized crime dynamics
- Minority rights and land conflicts
Middle East
Luca Nevola
Regional Specialist
- War in Yemen
- Political violence and protest in the Gulf region
- Shiite militias
Media Resources
Check the latest press releases, fact sheets, and Q&As.
Fact Sheet: Azerbaijan Moves to Retake Artsakh
ACLED records over 570 political violence events along the Armenia-Artsakh-Azerbaijan Line of Contact from the start of the year through the days leading up to…
ACLED Conflict Index: 2023 Mid-Year Update
ACLED’s Global Conflict Index ranks every country and territory according to four key indicators: deadliness, danger to civilians, geographic diffusion, and armed group fragmentation.
Q&A: What Do the Conflict Data Say About Zimbabwe’s Elections?
Elections for a new president in Zimbabwe had chaotic moments and were heavily biased in favor of incumbent Emmerson Mnangagwa and his ruling ZANU-PF party.…
Fact Sheet: Crisis in Ethiopia’s Amhara Region
Violence is escalating in Amhara region, prompting the government to declare a state of emergency. Nearly 30 clashes between government forces and Fano militias were…
Fact Sheet: Military Coup in Niger
While political violence incidents increased in Niger last year, the lethality of the violence has steadily declined, with a significant overall decrease in fatalities in…
Fact Sheet: Unrest Spikes in France After Fatal Police Shooting
Over 450 demonstration events were recorded across France in the immediate aftermath of the killing, marking a 380% increase compared to the previous week and…
Fact Sheet: Conflict Surges in Sudan
Updated: 24 May 2023 | Since the start of the fighting in Sudan, ACLED has recorded almost 200 conflict incidents around the country, with more…
UPDATE | Fact Sheet: Anti-LGBT+ Mobilization in the United States
Anti-LGBT+ mobilization has risen to its highest levels since ACLED started collecting data for the United States in 2020.
Introducing the Nigeria Election Violence Tracker
A new platform developed by ACLED and CDD to monitor patterns of political violence around the 2023 Nigerian general elections.
Fact Sheet: Attacks on Christians Spike in Nigeria Alongside Overall Rise in Violence Targeting Civilians
A series of attacks targeting churches as well as Catholic and Protestant leaders has raised concerns about escalating violence against the Christian community in Nigeria
Fact Sheet: Anti-LGBT+ Mobilization on the Rise in the United States
ACLED records a fourfold increase in anti-LGBT+ events from 2020 to 2021, and 2022 is currently on track to escalate even further.
Fact Sheet: Threats Against HBCUs and Black-Majority Schools in the United States
Dozens of bomb and shooting threats have been recorded across the country this year, with a surge reported during Black History Month.
Fact Sheet: Global Demonstrations Against the Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Since the attack, over 1,800 demonstrations have been reported worldwide.
Fact Sheet: ‘Freedom Convoys’ and Anti-Vaccine Demonstrations in Canada
New data on Canadian convoy protests and the police response.
ACLED-Religion Releases Historical Data for 2020
Back-coding adds over 6,000 new events to the dataset for the seven countries covered by the pilot project.
New Expansion Brings ACLED to Full Global Coverage
The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) has now achieved global real-time coverage with a final geographic expansion to Canada, Oceania, Antarctica, and all…
Early Warning Research Hub: Updated and Expanded
Following the completion of the initial beta testing phase, ACLED is pleased to launch an updated and expanded version of the Early Warning Research Hub…
Fact Sheet: Updated Armed Demonstration Data Released A Year After the 6 January Insurrection Show New Trends
A year on from the Capitol attack, armed pro-Trump demonstrations continue around the country.
Violence Targeting Women in Politics on the Rise, New ACLED Data Show
Three years ago, ACLED released new data capturing political violence targeting women (PVTW). Building on that work, ACLED has now expanded the data to introduce…
ACLED Data Shed New Light on Drug War Death Toll in the Philippines
Civilian fatalities from anti-drug operations in the Philippines are at least 25% higher than official figures suggest, new data from the Armed Conflict Location &…
New Small States Data Expand ACLED Coverage to More Than 200 Countries and Territories
The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) has now expanded real-time coverage to 13 small states and territories in Africa and Asia, adding…
ACLED, Everytown Release First-of-Its-Kind Report Revealing More Than 500 Armed Demonstrations Occurred in the Past 18 Months Alone
The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), in partnership with Everytown for Gun Safety, today released a new report documenting 560 armed demonstrations…
Fact Sheet: Demonstrations over Critical Race Theory in the United States
Key Trends Since former President Donald Trump issued an executive order widely seen as an attempt to ban critical race theory (CRT) in September 2020,…
Fact Sheet: Anti-Protest Legislation and Demonstration Activity in the United States
At least 34 states have introduced “anti-protest” bills to restrict demonstration activity or to expand legal protections for drivers who strike protesters with their vehicles.
Introducing ACLED-Religion: A New Pilot Project Tracking Religious Repression and Disorder
Download a PDF We are pleased to announce the launch of ACLED-Religion, our new pilot project collecting real-time data on religious repression and disorder across…
US Crisis Monitor Releases Full Data for 2020
Download a PDF 5 February 2021: New US Crisis Monitor data extend ACLED’s coverage of political violence and demonstration activity in the United States to…
ACLED Expands Coverage to All of Europe
14 January 2021: The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) has now expanded real-time coverage to all of Europe, extending the dataset to…
Expanding ACLED’s Latin America & Caribbean Data: 2018-2020
9 December 2020: Historical back-coding extends ACLED’s coverage of Latin America & the Caribbean back to 2018, adding more than 44,000 events. The new data…
Expanding ACLED’s East Asia Data: 2018-2020
3 December 2020: Historical back-coding for 2018, as well as supplemental data drawing on 18 new sources, together result in ACLED’s most comprehensive coverage of…
US Crisis Monitor Releases Full Data for Summer 2020
Download a PDF 31 August 2020: Nearly 11,000 demonstration, political violence, and strategic development events are recorded across America since the end of May, according…
Introducing the US Crisis Monitor
A special project launched by ACLED and BDI to track political violence and demonstration activity in the United States.
ACLED Expands Coverage to East Asia
30 June 2020: The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) has now expanded real-time coverage to East Asia. The new data span six…
Syria Enters Its 10th Year of War
On 15 March 2020, Syria entered its 10th year of war. Although ACLED data show an overall decrease in violence over the course of 2019,…
Expanding ACLED’s Bahrain Data: 2016-2020
At the height of the Arab Spring in February 2011, a mass protest movement took to the streets in Bahrain calling for democratic reforms, human…
ACLED Expands Coverage to Latin America & the Caribbean
27 February 2020: The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) has now expanded real-time coverage to Latin America and the Caribbean. These new…
Over 100,000 Reported Killed in Yemen War
31 October 2019: The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) currently records more than 100,000 reported fatalities in Yemen since 2015, including over…
ACLED Expands Coverage to Central Asia & the Caucasus
24 October 2019: The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) is pleased to announce the expansion of real-time coverage to Central Asia and…
Fact Sheet: Conflict in the DRC
25 July 2019: An upsurge in subregional conflict, an outbreak of the Ebola virus, and a contentious election combined to make 2018 one of the…
Data Confirm Wave of Targeted Attacks in the Philippines
3 July 2019: Violence against civilians has continued unabated in the Philippines through the first half of 2019, prompting condemnation last week from the UN…
Fact Sheet: Sexual Violence in Conflict
19 June 2019: On the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, ACLED data confirm that sexual violence remains a serious threat…
Yemen War Death Toll Exceeds 90,000 According to New ACLED Data for 2015
18 June 2019: New data for 2015 bring the total number of reported fatalities in Yemen to more than 91,000 over the past four and…
New Data Confirm Political Violence Targeting Women is on the Rise
28 May 2019: Women around the world are facing unprecedented levels of targeted political violence. According to new data on political violence targeting women collated…
Fact Sheet: Civilians in Conflict
28 May 2019: Twenty years after the United Nations officially added the protection of civilians in armed conflict to the Security Council agenda, noncombatants continue…
Sexual Violence in the ACLED Dataset
With the release of its new sub-event type categorization ACLED now includes a ‘Sexual violence’ sub-event type under the larger ‘Violence against civilians’ event type.…
PRESS RELEASE: Yemen War Death Toll Surpasses 70,000
18 April 2019: More than 10,000 people have been reported killed in Yemen over the last five months, bringing the war’s total death toll to…
ACLED Integrates New Partner Data on the War in Syria
5 April 2019: The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) is pleased to announce the incorporation of new data collected by the Syrian…
New Real-Time Data on Political Violence and Protest in Ukraine, Russia, and Eastern Europe
2 April 2019: Data for more than 23,500 political violence and protest events across Eastern Europe are now available from the Armed Conflict Location &…
Southeastern Europe – Europe Data Release
Across Albania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Greece, and Cyprus, nearly 1,700 political violence and protests events were recorded, the majority of which are protests. Nearly half…
The Balkans – Europe Data Release
ACLED has recorded over 2,000 political violence and protest events in the Balkans — defined as Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, and Serbia —…
Eastern Europe – Europe Data Release
Over 700 political violence and protest events spread across Romania, Moldova, and Belarus have been recorded in 2018 and since. Most of these events have…
Russia – Europe Data Release
Over 2,000 political violence and protest events took place in Russia in 2018. A vast majority of these were protest events, including anti-government protests and…
Ukraine – Europe Data Release
By far the highest number of political violence and protest events in Europe have taken place in Ukraine, with over 17,500 total events. A vast…
Europe Data Release
ACLED’s new Europe dataset has over 23,500 new political violence and protest events, spanning 15 countries across Eastern and Southeastern Europe, the Balkans, Ukraine, and…
Political Violence Skyrockets in the Sahel According to Latest ACLED Data
28 March 2019: As the UN Security Council returns from a visit to Mali and Burkina Faso, the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project…
Even as Overall Violence Drops, Civilians Face Record Threats in Syria
22 March 2019: Eight years into the Syrian Civil War, the country remains one of the deadliest places for civilians according to data collected by…
Yemen War Deaths on Overall Decline as UN Works to Salvage Truce
20 March 2019: With the UN announcing a new plan to shore up the December 2018 Stockholm Agreement between Yemen’s warring parties, the latest Armed…
ACLED Introduces New Event Types and Sub-Event Types
ACLED has debuted new event types to make analysis for users easier and more informative, and has also added a new sub-event type variable, which…
While Overall Violence has Declined in 2018, Conflict is Spreading
21 December 2018: Despite a decrease in total fatalities this year, the majority of countries experienced more conflict, expanding the scope of political violence across…
Yemen War Death Toll Now Exceeds 60,000, According to Latest ACLED Data
11 December 2018: As UN-led peace talks proceed in Stockholm and a landmark bill to end US support for the Saudi-backed coalition works its way…
The World’s Most Comprehensive Dataset on the Syrian Conflict
The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) is pleased to announce the release of the most comprehensive dataset on the Syrian conflict to…
Nepal – 2010 Data Release
Nearly 2500 additional conflict, protest, and non-violent events have been added to the ACLED Nepal dataset, expanding coverage back to 2010. The newly added data…
Myanmar – 2010 Data Release
Spanning from 2010 to the present, ACLED’s dataset for Myanmar includes over 5,000 recorded events. The data cover three political periods: the tail-end of the…
Thailand – 2010 Data Release
ACLED’s Thailand dataset contains nearly 3,000 recorded political violence, protest, and other non-violent political events from 2010 through the present. Throughout most of the country,…
Cambodia – 2010 Data Release
Over 1000 events have been added to ACLED’s Cambodia dataset — extending coverage back to 2010 — bringing the total number of reported political violence,…
Vietnam – 2010 Data Release
Over 250 additional events were added to the ACLED Vietnam dataset, nearly tripling the number of political violence, protest, and non-violent events in Vietnam coded…
Sri Lanka – 2010 Data Release
The period of ACLED’s coverage of Sri Lanka, 2010-2014, was bookended by the country’s sixth and seventh presidential elections, each marking major political events in…
Bangladesh – 2013 Data Release
Over 3700 political violence, protests, and other non-violent events have been added to ACLED’s Bangladesh dataset. This new release represents the addition of two major…
The Philippines – 2016 Data Release
Recorded political violence, protests, and other non-violent events drastically increased in the Philippines after President Duterte assumed office (June 30, 2016) and declared a ‘War…
Lebanon – 2016 Data Release
During 2016, the war in Syria greatly impacted Lebanon due to the more than one million Syrian refugees entering the country, and the active fighting…
Israel and Palestine – 2016 Data Release
In 2016, an increase in the development of settlements by Israel in the Palestinian West Bank was recorded while discriminatory land policies remained in place…
Turkey – 2016 Data Release
In Turkey, the beginning of 2016 was marked by escalating violence in the southeast as part of the renewed Kurdish/Turkish conflict following the 20 July…
Bahrain – 2016 Data Release
In 2016, high periods of demonstration activity were reported during three particular periods in Bahrain. First, the year started with Saudi Arabia executing the prominent…
Iran – 2016 Data Release
2016 was marked by an upsurge in Iran’s conflict with Kurdish insurgents. From the mid-1990s through 2016, the Iranian Kurdish parties had refrained from taking…
Iraq – 2016 Data Release
In 2016, the groundwork was laid for the dramatic defeat of the Islamic State in 2017. During offensives throughout the year, a number of towns…
ACLED Resources: Gaza and the US Embassy Opening in Jerusalem
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…
In the News
Does either side have the upper hand in Sudan? | BBC Africa Daily
In this episode of the Africa Daily podcast, ACLED President and CEO Prof. Clionadh Raleigh spoke with host Alan Kasujja on the fighting in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the milita group the Rapid Support Forces
Myanmar Military Kills More Than 100 People In A Single Attack | Forbes
This article by Forbes used ACLED data and featured commentary from our Conflict Watchlist report, ‘Myanmar: Continued Opposition to the Junta Amid Increasing Civilian Targeting by the Military’
This Church Was Firebombed for Hosting a Drag Show | VICE
This VICE analysis uses ACLED data on far-right mobilization in the United States.
Al Qaeda leader in North Africa grants exclusive interview to FRANCE 24
In this video, France 24 Journalist Wassim Nasr uses ACLED and Menastream data to map Jihadist activity in the Central Sahel
An Agenda for Addressing Bias in Conflict Data | Scientific Data
With increased availability of disaggregated conflict event data for analysis, there are new and old concerns about bias. We contend that it is necessary to advance an open and honest discussion about the responsibilities of all stakeholders in the data ecosystem to thoughtfully and transparently reflect on those biases. We…
Armed Demonstrators and Far-Right Groups Are Escalating Tensions at Abortion Protests | Time
In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, this Time article looks at the increase of armed demonstrators and far-right extremists at abortion-related demonstrations
Violent attacks on Pride events increased in 2022. Here are 16 that we know about | LGBTQ Nation
This article from LGBTQ Nation outlines 16 violent attacks on Pride events in 2022, noting the ACLED finding that incidents of political violence targeting the LGBTQ community in the first half of 2022 have already exceeded the total number of attacks reported in 2021.
New Security Broadcast: Clionadh Raleigh on Reframing “Climate Security” | New Security Beat
About half the world’s population live in an area of active or latent conflict, and few corners of the planet are not feeling the effects of climate change
White extremist groups go after LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month | CNN
Commentary from ACLED’s Head of Communications, Sam Jones, specifically citing ACLED data that shows the anti-LGBT+ mobilization increased by over four times from 2020 to 2021
Saudi-led Airstrikes in Yemen Have Been Called War Crimes. Many Relied on U.S. Support | Washington Post
The Washington Post cites ACLED estimates that the coalition air campaign in Yemen has directly resulted in nearly 24,000 total fatalities, including approximately 9,000 civilians.
The Buffalo Killer Ripped off Past Manifestos and Mainstream GOP Talking Points | Daily Beast
In the wake of the May 2022 mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, ACLED Director of Research & Innovation Dr. Roudabeh Kishi discusses our latest report on far-right activity in the United States with The Daily Beast.
Far Right Militant Groups Align With Issue Oriented Groups Ahead of Midterms | NPR
ACLED in the News The Buffalo Killer Ripped off Past Manifestos and Mainstream GOP Talking Points | Daily Beast Source: NPR | 3 May 2022 NPR’s Morning Edition breaks down ACLED’s new report — Far Right Violence and the American Midterm Elections: Early Warning Signs to Monitor Ahead of the Vote…
#ASDailyScoop: Report says conflict events in Ethiopia climbed by 161% in 2021 | Addis Standard
Highlighting our special report on 10 Conflicts to Worry About in 2022, the Addis Standard Daily Scoop features ACLED data showing that conflict events increased by 161% in Ethiopia in 2021, marking the country’s most violent year since the beginning of our coverage in 1997.
Women and Journalists are Targets of Violence in Taliban-Ruled Afghanistan | The Intercept
The Intercept features our new report with Afghan Peace Watch — Tracking Disorder During Taliban Rule in Afghanistan — on the rise in violence targeting women, journalists, and former government officials under Taliban rule, with commentary from ACLED Director of Research & Innovation Dr. Roudabeh Kishi.
Russian Attacks Hit at Least 9 Ukrainian Medical Facilities, Visual Evidence Shows | Washington Post
Drawing on ACLED and other data sources to triangulate reports, this Washington Post Visual Analysis investigation verifies “nine incidents where hospitals faced direct damage as a result of a reported Russian attack.”
How Burkina Faso Became the Epicenter of Conflict in the Sahel | Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera analysis of ACLED data finds that violence is surging in Burkina Faso, making it the new epicenter of the Sahel crisis, and features commentary from Héni Nsaibia, ACLED Senior Researcher.
Philippines Probing 250 More Cases of Drug War Killings | Business World Online
Business World Online covers a new investigation into 250 potential drug war killings in the Philippines, citing recent ACLED research that indicated the government was severely undercounting civilian fatalities from the violence.
From Algeria to Zimbabwe: How Africa’s Autocratic Elites Cycle In and Out of Power | The Conversation
ACLED Executive Director Prof. Clionadh Raleigh outlines new research into political change in African competitive autocracies using the notion of ‘regime cycles.’ This framework seeks to explain political change in African autocracies by looking at the role of political elites, focusing on cycles of power between a leader and their…
Attacks on Women in Politics are on the Rise Around the World | Ms. Magazine
For Ms. Magazine, ACLED Director for Research & Innovation Dr. Roudabeh Kishi breaks down new showing that physical violence targeting women in politics is increasing in most regions of the world, creating additional –and at times deadly — obstacles to women’s participation in political processes.
Mapping Violence Against Women | Al Jazeera
To mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Al Jazeera uses ACLED data to chart trends in sexual violence against women in armed conflict.
The Car Becomes the Weapon | The Boston Globe
This interactive project from the Boston Globe uses ACLED data to map 139 car-ramming incidents at demonstrations across the United States since May 2020, and features commentary from ACLED Director of Research & Innovation Dr. Roudabeh Kishi.
The Second Amendment Has Become a Threat to the First | The Atlantic
Drawing on new data produced by ACLED and the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, Diana Palmer and Timothy Zick argue that firearms are having chilling effect on the exercise of the First Amendment right to peaceful protest, in the United States.
Extremists Target African Village Leaders in Wave of Assassinations | Reuters
This Reuters special report uses ACLED data to document a “wave of assassinations” targeting village leaders and their families in the Sahel.
No strings attached? How Europe’s military support for Mali closes its eyes to abuses | The New Humanitarian
Co-written by ACLED Senior Researcher Héni Nsaibia, this The New Humanitarian investigation draws on ACLED data to track extrajudicial killings in Mali. In 2020, Malian security forces were linked to more civilian fatalities than the jihadists groups they are meant to be combating.
How Myanmar’s Military Terrorized its People | The Washington Post
The Washington Post uses ACLED data to show the scale of the military junta’s crackdown on anti-coup demonstrations in Myanmar.
Armed Protests are Picking Up, and More Likely to Turn Violent | USA Today
USA Today features our joint report with the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund analyzing new data on armed demonstrations in the United States, with commentary from ACLED Director of Research & Innovation, Dr. Roudabeh Kishi.
The Spread of the Islamic State in Africa | Sky News
In this interactive analysis, Sky News uses ACLED data to explore Islamic State activity across Africa, mapping trends in Egypt, the Sahel, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Mozambique.
New Perspectives on Preventing Conflict-Related Sexual Violence | IPI Global Observatory
External New Perspectives on Preventing Conflict-Related Sexual Violence | IPI Global Observatory Source: IPI Global Observatory | 16 February 2021 In this op-ed published by the International Peace Institute, our Director for Research & Innovation Dr. Roudabeh Kishi, along with Angela Muvumba Sellström, Louise Olsson, Stephen Moncrief, Elisabeth Jean Wood, Karin…
The Police’s Tepid Response To The Capitol Breach Wasn’t An Aberration | FiveThirtyEight
In the wake of the January 6 isurecction, this FiveThirtyEight report draws on ACLED analysis around police response to protests in the United States and features commentary from ACLED’s Director for Reasearch & Innovation Dr. Roudabeh Kishi, specifically citing ACLED data that showed that, between May 1 and November 28,…
How to Thwart Political Violence Targeting Women to Stabilize Societies | War on the Rocks
The political participation of women, especially in conflict-affected countries, is an official foreign policy priority for the United States. In this commentary published in War on the Rocks, our Director for Research & Innovation Dr. Roudabeh Kishi, along with Rebecca Turkington, speak to the need for efforts in this area…
Connect with ACLED
Follow us on social media and subscribe to our newsletter for the latest data and analysis.