Scroll down to explore a selection of some of the most salient conflicts in Africa. This resource provides readers with high-level summaries and background information on these ongoing conflicts.
Central African Republic (CAR)
Snapshot: The recent conflict originates in 2013 when a rebel coalition (Séléka) from northern Muslim territories overthrew the government, leading to a civil war and the collapse of the state. The conflict can be characterised as a sectarian and ethno-religious intra-state dispute fuelled by identity politics.
Main actors: Majority-Muslim rebel groups (Séléka, Coalition of Patriots for Change) and majority Christian anti-rebel militias (Anti-Balakas); Regional actors: Chad, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Angola and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community; International Actors: Russia, France.
UN Presence: MINUSCA (UNITED NATIONS MULTIDIMENSIONAL INTEGRATED STABILIZATION MISSION IN THE CAR), established in 2014.
Key Stats: 580,000 people displaced inside CAR (estimated for 2022) and 15,481 deployed number of UN personnel (as of 10/2021).
Sources: IISS, CFR, ICR, MINUSCA, UNHCR
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
Snapshot: Long-standing conflict along Eastern DRC with its more recent origins in the spill-over from the 1994 Rwandan crisis and genocide, when Hutus responsible for the massacre of thousands of Tutsis crossed over to the DRC forming armed groups. The situation can be characterised as an intra-state conflict with regional actors heavily involved, driven and fuelled by regional ethnic grievances and fight over the control of lucrative local resources.
Main actors: DRC state forces; local rebel groups including M23; Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi (backing the rebels); Angola and Zimbabwe but also Namibia and others (backing the DRC) and international organisations (UN, AU, EU) and countries (US, South Africa) involved in the peace process.
UN Presence: MONUSCO (UN ORGANIZATION STABILIZATION MISSION IN THE DRC), established in 2010.
Key Stats: 5.01 million people displaced inside DRC (between 10/2017 and 09/2019) and 17,728 deployed number of UN personnel (as of 10/2021)
Sources: US Congress, Escola de Cultura de Pau, MONUSCO, UNHCR
Ethiopia (Tigray)
Snapshot: in November 2020, the federal government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched a military offensive against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in the northern state of Tigray. The TPLF had ruled the country until 2018, when Ahmed ascended to power following general elections. Tigray leaders oppose Ahmed’s federal unity policies and in September 2020 they defied the federal government’s prohibition to run regional elections, triggering the government’s offensive and subsequent civil war.
Main actors: Ethiopia’s Federal Government and regular army and Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). In late 2021, following international pressure Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed admitted the presence in the country of Eritrean troops backing the Ethiopian army. Ahmed has so far refused international calls for mediation.
UN Presence: No UN Mission has been established to date.
Key Stats: 2.5 million persons internally displaced within Ethiopia (as of 09/2021).
Mali
Snapshot: In 2012, the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) coalesced with Islamic Militant groups to lead a rebellion in northern Mali. Mali’s military staged a coup, France deployed ground troops and the UN established MINUSMA, but rebel and militant groups have since asserted control of territory and expanded their activities and attacks to neighbouring countries. Mali’s military staged two more coups in 2020 and 2021, further undermining the peace process.
The conflict is part of a broader Sahel-wide protracted crisis combining political instability, inter-ethnic violence and expanding Islamic militancy that often engages in intra-jihadi fighting over the control of territory, routes, population and resources.
Main actors: Domestic actors: Malian State and Army, National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA); Islamic Militants: Ansar al-Dine, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa, The Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS); Regional Actors: Group of 5 Sahel Force (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger); International Actors: France (Operation Barkhane), USA, African Union and ECOWAS.
UN Presence: MINUSMA (UNITED NATIONS MULTIDIMENSIONAL INTEGRATED STABILIZATION MISSION IN MALI), established in 2013.
Key Stats: 401,736 people displaced inside Mali (as of 09/2021) and 16,828 deployed number of UN personnel (as of 10/2021).
Sources: MINUSMA, UNHCR, CFR, ICG, ReliefWeb, ECFR
Somalia
Snapshot: long-standing conflict which finds its more recent roots in the formation of al-Shabaab in 2006, an Islamic Militant group formally affiliated to al-Qaeda since 2012 and which controls large parts of the Somali territory. The African Union established AMISOM in 2007 to push back al-Shabaab’s advance and pave the way to a democratic transition. Al-Shabaab’s power peaked in 2011 when the group seized control of parts of the capital Mogadishu but was subsequently repelled by Kenyan troops (part of AMISOM). AMISOM’s mandate has been further extended to March 2022 to facilitate the phased handover of responsibilities to Somali security forces.
Main actors: Domestic Actors: Somalian State and Somali National Security Forces, al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Shabaab, Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama’a (ASWJ); Regional Actors: African Union, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda; International Actors: USA
AU Presence: AMISOM (AFRICAN UNION MISSION IN SOMALIA), established in 2007.
Key Stats: 777,000 people internally displaced within Somalia (between January and November 2021) of which 541,000 are the direct result of conflict / insecurity, and 19,626 AMISOM uniformed personnel (as of March 2021).
Sources: AMISOM, CFR, ICG, CSIS, UNHCR, RUSI, UN
South Sudan
Snapshot: political, inter-communal and ethnic civil war erupted in 2013 when Dinka followers of South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and Nuer supporters of Vice President and opposition leader Riek Machar went to war with each other. In addition, an insurgency led by Thomas Cirillo in the Equatoria region broke off in 2017, further complicating the peace process. In 2011, South Sudan gained independence from Sudan following centuries of ethno-religious divide between the majority Arab and Muslim North and the majority African, Christian and Animist South.
Main actors: Domestic actors: government forces loyal to President Salva Kiir, opposition forces loyal to Vice President Riek Machar, rebel forces led by Thomas Cirillo in the Equatoria region; Regional actors: Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD); International Actors: US, UK, Norway (the Troika) and China.
UN Presence: UNMISS (UNITED NATIONS MISSION IN THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH SUDAN), established in 2011.
Key Stats: 1.3 million people displaced inside South Sudan (estimate for 2022) and 18,116 deployed number of UN personnel (as of 10/2021).
Sources: CFR, USIP, ICR, ReliefWeb, UNHCR, UNMISS
Western Sahara
Snapshot: Long-standing territorial dispute over the sovereignty of the Western Sahara which is bordered by Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania. In 1976 Spain withdrew from the territory and Morocco and Mauritania laid claims on the northern and southern parts of the same, while the Front Polisario claimed independent sovereignty. A UN Mission was established in 1991 but has failed to make tangible progress towards a referendum on the future of the region. Today the dispute can be characterised as a low-intensity armed and political conflict.
Main actors: Domestic and Regional Actors: Morocco and Morocco’s Army, Polisario Front, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and Sahrawi People’s Liberation Army, Algeria, Mauritania; International Actors: United Nations, African Union, USA, Spain, France.
UN Presence: MINURSO (UNITED NATIONS MISSION FOR THE REFERENDUM IN WESTERN SAHARA), established in 1991.
Key Stats: over 173,000 refugees are living in five camps located in Tindouf province, Algeria.
Sources: MINURSO, ICG, POLEMOLOGY, ACAPS
