ConflictBarometer_2015

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
and 16 months, respectively. The UN Human Rights Council
asked on July 5 for the immediate release of former secretarygeneral
of Ginbot 7, Andargachew Tsige, after the UN Special
Rapporteur on Torture had expressed concerns on May 22
that Tsige was being tortured.
On October 30, the government detained 13 people in Arba
Minch, SNNPR, allegedly engaged in ''anti-peace activities.''
On December 24, Bekele Gerba, former secretary-general of
the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), was arrested
in his house in Adama, Oromiya, and imprisoned. Former head
of the public relations office of the Semayawi Party, Yonatan
Tesfaye, was arrested by the police and imprisoned in Addis
Ababa on December 28. On July 8, the journalists Tesfalem
Wedeyes, Asmamaw Hailegiorgis, and Edom Kasaye were released
after 15 months in prison. One day later, journalist
Reyot Alemu was released after having served four years of
her five-year sentence. By October 17, all members of the
Zone 9 bloggers had been released from prison.
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GUINEA (OPPOSITION)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 2006
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
UFDG, UFR et al vs. government
national power
The conflict over national power between the opposition
coalition and the government of President Alpha Condé escalated
to a violent crisis ahead of the presidential elections
scheduled for October 11. The opposition coalition, consisting
of numerous opposition parties, was led by the presidential
candidates Cellou Dalein Diallo, Union of Guinea's
Democratic Forces (UFDG), and Sidya Touré, Union of Republican
Forces (UFR).
Throughout the year, violent confrontations took place between
supporters of the opposition parties and of the government
as well as with security forces all over the country
and especially in the capital Conakry.
Between February 2 and 4, around 24 police forces and
25 civilians were injured during anti-government protests in
Labé, eponymous region. From April 13 to 14, opposition
supporters protested in Conakry, which partly turned into
rioting and looting. The police used tear gas and guns, while
protesters threw stones. In the course of the actions, two
people were killed and 146 injured, at least 37 of whom by
gunshots. Furthermore, two women were gang-raped, one of
whom by security forces while being in custody. In clashes
with opposition supporters in the capital on April 23, security
forces shot dead one protester and 14 people were injured,
among them eleven police personnel. The security forces that
had been deployed in hundreds there arrested 93 people.
On September 20, supporters of the opposition and of the
government threw stones at each other in Koundara, Boké
region. During the protest, several people were injured and
the police arrested at least 35. Between October 8 and 9, opposition
activists clashed with Condé-supporters in Conakry,
Kérouané, Kankan region, and Kissidougou, Faranah region.
In Conakry, protesters used stones and clubs, while security
forces fired shots and used tear gas and batons. At least
twelve people were killed and 50 were injured.
The violent clashes went along with the opposition's strong
objections to the organization of local and presidential elections.
On March 18, the opposition parties withdrew 49 MPs,
declaring they would no longer recognize the National Independent
Electoral Commission. The opposition asked for
local elections, which had initially been scheduled for 2014,
to be held before the presidential elections. On June 19,
the opposition and the government agreed to reschedule the
local elections for 2016. Four days later, on June 23, UFDG's
Diallo announced to ally with former military ruler Moussa
Dadis Camara in the presidential election. Camara, still living
in exile in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, accused the government
of having prevented his return to the country when he
failed to register as presidential candidate.
President Condé was declared winner with 57.84 percent of
the votes on October 11, after opposition parties had repeatedly
demanded a delay of the election. EU observers
described the election as mainly fair and free, but noted some
irregularities in the voting process. All opposition candidates
asked for the result to be annulled, accusing the government
of electoral manipulation. However, four days later, the
Constitutional Court confirmed the result. jhe
KENYA (INTER-ETHNIC VIOLENCE)
Intensity: 4 | Change: | Start: 1963
Conflict parties: Pokot vs. Turkana; Samburu vs.
Turkana; Degodia vs. Garre; Maasai
vs. Kipsigis; Giriama vs. Orma; Pokot
vs. Luhya; Maasai vs. Kisii; Ajuraan;
vs. Degodia et al.
Conflict items: subnational predominance, re-
sources
The limited war over resources and subnational predominance
between various ethnic groups continued. Clashes
erupted over cattle rustling, land use, grazing and water
rights, as well as competition over political representation
and control of oil-rich areas both between different ethnic
groups and among sub-clans within ethnic groups. Most
affected areas were located in the Rift Valley in the northwestern
counties Turkana, Baringo, Samburu, Marsabit, and
Isiolo.
Furthermore, in the northeastern counties Mandera and Wajir,
militias from different communities clashed repeatedly.
Throughout the year, hundreds of people were killed, hundreds
of thousands internally displaced, and thousands of
heads of cattle stolen.
According to the UN, in the first six months alone, intercommunal
violence in the north of the country resulted in
the deaths of 310 people, thereby matching the overall death
toll of the previous year, and displaced some 216,000 people.
Most fatalities resulted from frequent clashes between the rivaling
groups of the Turkana and the Pokot as well as between
militias from the Samburu and the Turkana. While traditionally
the groups had mostly fought over grazing grounds and
cattle, local officials stated that the importance of controlling
oil-rich areas further fueled the conflict. For instance, starting
on May 4, several days of attacks and reprisal attacks between
Pokot and Turkana left up to 75 people dead in villages along
the border between Turkana and Baringo county.
On June 6, in one of many clashes between Turkana and
Samburu, fighters from both sides engaged in a gun battle
in Attan, Isiolo county, which lasted for six hours despite
an intervention by the police. The attack resulted in eleven
fatalities. In order to curb the violence in the North, the
government launched in cooperation with county leaders a
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