Weekly reports on the latest conflict developments in Mozambique and Ethiopia are made available by the Cape Ligado* and* Ethiopia Peace Observatory*projects, respectively.*
Last week in Africa, multiple acts of election-related violence occurred in Nigeria. In the Sahel, deadly clashes continued between the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and the Islamic State of the Sahel Province (IS Sahel). Political violence decreased in Somalia, while in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the March 23 Movement (M23) continued its advance towards Goma.
In Burkina Faso, fighting continued between rival Islamist militant groups last week, with IS Sahel fighters reportedly killing at least a dozen JNIM members in attacks in Fadar Fadar, Erafnaman and Fererio regions of the province of Oudalan in the Sahel region. Elsewhere, JNIM launched a series of IED attacks targeting civilians and police in several localities in the East, Center-North and Center-East regions, resulting in several deaths and injuries.
Meanwhile, anti-France protests took place in the Centre-Nord and Center regions last week, including in the capital Ouagadougou. In the Center region, protesters threw stones at the French Embassy in Ouagadougou and at a military base housing French troops in Kamboinsin, prompting French troops to retaliate with tear gas. The protests come as anti-French sentiments rise in the country. Although violence in the Center region has not been common, it has become increasingly volatile, resulting in a shift from a “low risk” location to an “increasing risk” area by ACLED Risk Volatility and Predictability Index.
In Mali, the military and the Wagner group continued their operations in the circles of Mopti and Koro in the Mopti region and the circle of Niono in the region of Ségou. During the operations, combined state and Wagner forces reportedly killed several civilians, mostly farmers and other ethnic Fulani. Meanwhile, JNIM abducted three people, including a staff member of an international NGO, between the towns of Bandiagara and Bankass in the Mopti region.
In neighboring Niger, IS Sahel militants have carried out a series of attacks on civilians in the Tillaberi region over the past week, killing at least three people. Nigerien and French forces responded to IS Sahel activities with airstrikes, killing six militants near the village of Tiguezefen.
In Nigeria, levels of election-related political violence resurfaced last week after declining in the previous two weeks. In Ebonyi State, the Ebube Agu Corps reportedly attacked Labor Party members and supporters in the towns of Abakaliki and Mgbom Okposi. Elsewhere, in the town of Tede, Oyo State, suspected supporters of the ruling Progressive Party attacked the convoy of the Accord Party’s gubernatorial candidate, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, destroying several vehicles. Intra-party clashes also took place in Imo and Rivers states, where supporters of the opposition People’s Democratic Party clashed over competing interests. (for more on election-related violence in the run-up to the February 25, 2023 elections, see Monitoring ACLED’s election violence in Nigeria).
In Somalia, political disorder fell for the second consecutive week last week. Nonetheless, government forces continued to carry out counter-offensives against Al Shabaab, with the support of local clan militias, and regained control of several localities in the Bulo Burto and Belet Weyne districts of the Hiiraan region.
In Sudan, militias from the Awlad Rashid and Misseriya ethnic groups engaged in deadly clashes in Central Darfur state last week for the second week in a row. Amid the clashes, armed men attacked mediators sent by the authorities to resolve the conflict which began the previous week after a robbery in the locality of Bendasi. The clashes have already left dozens dead and thousands displaced (Relief Web, November 16, 2022). ACLED Subnational Surge Tracker warned of an upsurge in violence in Central Darfur over the previous four weeks.
Last week in South Sudan, government forces (SSPDF) clashed with National Salvation Front rebels for three days at Otogo payam in Central Equatoria State. The clashes displaced dozens of civilians (Facebook_@Radio Miraya, November 15, 2022). In the state of Northern Bahr el Ghazal, the SSPDF arrested and beat dozens of members of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in opposition before the launch of the party secretariat in Aweil (Radio Tamazuj, November 21, 2022). These trends contribute to the 91% increase in violent events in South Sudan over the past week compared to the weekly average of the previous month, as indicated ACLED Conflict Change Map.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the M23 continued its advance towards Goma in the province of North Kivu last week. The group re-entered Nyiragongo territory, after being repelled by state forces (FARDC) in the region in May. However, despite initial territorial gains by the M23, by the end of the week the FARDC had regained control of large parts of the Bukumu chiefdom, in particular the areas of Kibumba and Buhumba, halting the rebel group’s advances into the territory. of Nyiragongo. In Rutshuru territory, the M23 continued to take control of several localities despite FARDC counter-offensives in the region. This violence contributed to the 27% increase in violent events in the Democratic Republic of Congo last week compared to the weekly average of the previous month. ACLED Conflict Change Map also warned of an upsurge in violence in the country over the previous four weeks. Amid the continued advance of the M23, two Kenyan military contingents were deployed to Goma under the auspices of the East African Community (EAC) (Africa News September 16, 2022).
Note: This dashboard automatically updates to cover the last four weeks of data released by ACLED. Use date filters to view data for the week-long period covered by this regional overview
