ConflictBarometer_2015

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
Election Authority announced the two former prime ministers
Anicet-Georges Dologuele and Touadera as winners of the
first electoral round, with 23.78 percent and 19.42 percent,
respectively. jli, lmp
CHAD (OPPOSITION)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 1990
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
opposition groups vs. government
national power
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC, DR CONGO,
SOUTH SUDAN, UGANDA (LRA)
Intensity: 4 | Change: | Start: 1987
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
LRA vs. Central African Republic, DR
Congo, South Sudan, Uganda
subnational predominance, re-
sources
The limited war over subnational predominance and resources
between the Lord s Resistance Army (LRA) on the
one hand, and the governments of the Central African Republic,
DR Congo, South Sudan, and Uganda on the other,
continued. After being pushed out of northern Uganda in
2006, LRA operations concentrated on the border triangle
of the DR Congo, Central African Republic (CAR), and South
Sudan.
According to the UN, LRA killed at least 19 people and abducted
more than 300 in 2015. The group engaged in crossborder
trade with ivory, diamonds, and gold. A 5,000-strong
African Union Regional Task Force supported by 100 US Special
Forces continued to pursue the 100 to 150-strong LRA.
In January, high-ranking LRA leader Dominic Ongwen surrendered
to US forces and was transferred to the International
Criminal Court to stand trial for crimes against humanity and
war crimes.
In DR Congo, LRA was active in Orientale province, concentrating
on the area of Garamba National Park, Haute-Uele
district. In the first half of the year, at least 49,000 people
fled due to LRA operations. Clashes between FARDC and
LRA in Nagome on January 20 left two civilians and one
soldier dead and another injured. On February 16, around
20 LRA fighters ambushed a vehicle on the Route Nationale
N 4, Haute-Uele, killing the driver, injuring three people,
and pillaging goods. At the end of April, the group killed
one park ranger in Garamba. On May 25, nine alleged LRA
fighters armed with AK-47 killed two civilians, abducted 17,
and looted several shops in Yangili, Bas-Uele district. On July
19, FARDC operations against LRA in Li-Mbio, Haute-Uele,
left four militants and one soldier dead. Alleged LRA fighters
attacked the village of Nanzinga on October 5, killing two
civilians, wounding two others, and pillaging domestic goods.
On November 15, members of the group killed two boys and
kidnapped another six in Dialimo village.
Throughout the year, LRA also engaged in fighting with the
Sudanese People's Liberation Force in Garamba National Park
near the Sudanese border. For instance, clashes between the
two groups in the village of Aba, Haute-Uele, left three fighters
dead.
In Central African Republic, sporadic LRA lootings were observed.
On December 2, ten LRA members armed with AK-47
attacked the mining site of Kpambayamba in Haute-Kotto
prefecture. In retaliation, one ex-Séléka fighter killed one
LRA member [→ Central African Republic (Anti-Balaka ex-
Séléka)]. cke
The conflict over national power between the opposition and
the government led by President Idriss Déby Itno and his
Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) continued as a violent
crisis. The opposition consisted of various political parties
and loosely organized protesters, mainly students. As in
previous years, opposition parties, like the National Union
for Democracy and Renewal (UNDR), repeatedly demanded
the president's resignation, accusing him of violating human
rights. Furthermore, due to internal disagreements, former
Prime Minister Joseph Djimrangar Dadnadji left the MPS and
founded the party Popular Action Framework for Solidarity
and Unity of the Republic (CAP-SUR) in mid-April. Djimrangar
Dadnadji stated his aim was to defeat the MPS in the
upcoming 2016 elections. During the first half of the year,
anti-government protests erupted in several cities, often
turning violent. For instance, on January 26 in Doba, department
of Logone Oriental, police forces clashed with dozens of
students protesting against new baccalaureate regulations.
The clashes left four protesters and one civilian dead and
approx. ten people seriously injured, including policemen.
On March 9, students protested against a rise in helmet prices
in the capital N'Djamena, after the use of motorcycle helmets
had become obligatory at the beginning of the month. The
protesters set several vehicles on fire, blocked access to
schools, and attacked motorcyclists, stealing and breaking
their helmets. In subsequent clashes, police forces dispersed
the crowd using tear gas. Moreover, they shot dead up to three
protesters and injured and arrested dozens. A few days later,
media released a video showing policemen torturing several
students who had participated in the protests. On April 25, the
death of a person in police custody led to protests in Kyabé,
department of Moyen-Chari. When protesters attacked the
local police station ransacking offices, burning two police
cars, and destroying parts of a market, the police opened
gunfire, killing at least three protesters and injuring up to ten.
The relation between opposition groups and the government
remained tense throughout the year, even though no further
clashes were reported after the end of April. For instance,
in reaction to Boko Haram's suicide attacks in N'Djamena on
June 15 [→ Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Niger (Boko Haram)],
the government tightened anti-terror measures, including the
reintroduction of the death penalty. Subsequently, several
opposition parties accused the MPS of taking advantage of
this situation in order to strengthen its power by repressing
civil society organizations and restricting the freedom of assembly.
In October, police forces arrested a journalist who
had accused the director of the National Customs Service,
Salaye Déby, of embezzlement of state funds. das
CÔTE D'IVOIRE (OPPOSITION)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 1999
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
CNC, FPI vs. government
national power
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