Regional Overview: Africa
6-12 September 2020
Last week in Africa, Islamic State-affiliated militants clashed with state forces in Tunisia and Morocco; dozens were killed during intercommunal violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo; and the Malian military junta announced a timeline for a return to civilian rule, amid escalating tension with supporters of the Movement of June 5 – Rally of Patriotic Forces.…
Regional Overview: Africa
2 August-5 September 2020
During the last five weeks in Africa, the Malian government was overthrown in a military coup; election-related violence was reported in the Ivory Coast, Uganda, and the Central African Republic; and a ceasefire was declared in Libya.…
Regional Overview: Africa
7-13 June 2020
In Africa last week, suspected Katiba Macina militants carried out the first jihadi attack in Ivory Coast since 2016; residents of Tripoli continued to face the threat of landmines in Libya; and Boko Haram launched multiple large-scale attacks on civilian populations in northeast Nigeria.…
Regional Overview: Africa
31 May – 6 June 2020
Last week in Africa, the head of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) was killed in a French military operation in northern Mali; Khalifa Haftar supported a ceasefire after his Libyan National Army (LNA) forces withdrew from Libya’s capital Tripoli; and Congolese military forces (FARDC) regained territory in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ituri province.…
Regional Overview: Africa
17-30 May 2020
During the previous fortnight in Africa, the Government of National Accord (GNA) made key gains in the west of Libya, further frustrating the Libyan National Army’s (LNA) Tripoli offensive; the Allied Defence Force (ADF) consolidated recent moves outside their traditional area of operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s northeast; and Al Shabaab assassinated a governor in Somalia’s Puntland for the second time in the last two months.…
Regional Overview: Africa
3-9 May 2020
Last week in Africa, demonstration activity rose to its highest levels since mid-March amid an easing of coronavirus restrictions in some countries; escalating inter-jihadi conflict in the Sahel became further entrenched; and overtures of peace were made in one of the most violent insurgencies in the Democratic Republic of Congo.…
Call Unanswered: A Review of Responses to the UN Appeal for a Global Ceasefire
On 23 March, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for a global coronavirus ceasefire (UN News, 23 March 2019). The truce would allow pandemic responses to be carried out in areas that are usually too dangerous for medical personnel to access due to ongoing conflict, and could also create opportunities for negotiations between belligerents. …
Regional Overview: Africa
26 April – 2 May 2020
In Africa last week, coronavirus fears prompted a fatal prison riot in Sierra Leone; Libyan National Army (LNA) leader Khalifa Haftar claimed that his military had a popular mandate to rule Libya; and the Central African Republic was hit by worsening ethnic violence amongst ex-Seleka armed groups.…
