Insecurity in the Liptako-Gourma Region

Africa, AQIM, Boko Haram, Remote Violence, Violence Against Civilians
On 24 January, the leaders Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger met in Niamey under the auspices of the Liptako-Gourma Authority (LGA). The goal of this sub-regional organization is to allow these three countries to coordinate the development of the Liptako-Gourma region (Sahel Standard, 24 January 2017), which includes, in whole or in part, nineteen provinces of Burkina Faso, four administrative regions of Mali, and two departments and an urban community in Niger.…

African Overview 2015

Africa, Civilians At Risk, Current Hotspots, Focus On Militias, Local-Level Violence, Political Stability, Pro-Government Militias, Remote Violence, Rioting And Protests, Violence Against Civilians
In 2015, ACLED recorded 14,640 conflict events on the African continent. Armed conflict decreased by 14.0% compared to the previous year, marking the first negative trend since 2009. In a number of high-activity countries, including Central African Republic, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia, conflict levels declined by more than 20% over one year.…

The Prospects of Islamic State Expansion into Africa & an Analysis of State and Non-State Actor Strategies

Africa, Civilians At Risk, Current Hotspots, Islamic State, Islamist Violence, Political Stability, Violence Against Civilians
In November 2014, The Islamic State’s recruitment and propaganda publication ‘Dabiq’ announced a strategy to ‘remain’ and ‘expand’ (The Clarion Project, 21 November 2014) in order to consolidate its existing territorial presence whilst spreading the caliphate regionally, and eventually globally to promote disorder and disruption.…

Intra-Tuareg Militant Violence and Islamist Insurgency – The Overlapping Crises of the Conflict in Mali

Africa, Analysis, Civilians At Risk, Islamic State, Islamist Violence, Rioting And Protests, Unidentified Armed Groups, Violence Against Civilians
Following the short but deadly burst of fighting in May, Mali has generally seen a decreasing trend in overall events over the past few months (which follows a broader trend in decreasing violence since this time last year), with a spike in fatalities during July (see Figure 1).…