AFRICA UPSC

Africa’s Conflict & countries involved

Conflicts in Africa are direct consequence of European interference to control its rich mineral resources & chaotic end to colonialism. Inter clan rivalry among tribal groups has also added to violence. Conflict levels were high in the early 1990s following the end of the Cold War. Reported incidents and fatalities in Africa were at a low in the mid-2000s, but have risen since 2012, largely due to escalations in Egypt, CAR, DRC, Libya, Mali, Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan and Somalia.

Current conflicts:

1. Nigeria

Fatalities blamed on Boko Haram activities have increased at an average of 282% since 2010 – from 65 in 2010 to 3 878 in 2014. The number of civilian deaths as a result of this conflict by all actors has also increased over time.

 

2. South Sudan

Unity, Central Equatoria, Jonglei, Upper Nile and Lakes states have witnessed 90% of all fatalities since the outbreak of conflict in December 2013. December 2013 remains the bloodiest month since the conflict started.

 

3. Somalia

AMISOM’s operational presence in South-central Somalia continues to broaden against al-Shabaab’s territorial control. The role of the Somali government in the fight against al-Shabaab is most noticeable after the end of the transition in 2012.

 

4. Central African Republic

The top three provinces that have witnessed the most deaths are Bangui, Ouham and Ouham Pende. All actors have contributed significantly to the rise in the number of civilian deaths during the conflict. While CAR accounts for only 0,5% of the African population, 11% of conflict-related fatalities occurred there in 2014.

 

5. Sudan

What’s behind the civil war?

The clashes erupted in the middle of April 2023 amid an apparent power struggle between the two main factions of the military regime.

• The Sudanese armed forces are broadly loyal to Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the country’s de facto ruler,
• while the paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a collection of militia, follow the former warlord Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti.
• The power struggle has its roots in the years before a 2019 uprising that ousted the dictatorial ruler Omar al-Bashir, who built up formidable security forces that he deliberately set against one another.

When an effort to transition to a democratic civilian-led government faltered after Bashir’s fall, an eventual showdown appeared inevitable, with diplomats in Khartoum warning in early 2022 that they feared such an outbreak of violence. In the weeks before clashes broke out tensions had risen further.

 

How did the military rivalries develop?

The RSF was founded by Bashir to crush a rebellion in Darfur region of sudanthat began more than 20 years ago due to the political and economic marginalisation of the local people by Sudan’s central