ConflictBarometer_2015

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
The conflict over national power between the Ivorian Popular
Front (FPI) and the National Coalition for Change (CNC),
on the one side, and the Rally of the Republicans (RDR) of
President Alassane Ouattara, on the other, remained violent.
The year was marked by the holding of presidential elections
on October 25.
On March 27, the Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire (PDCI)
under former president Henri Konan Bédié promised to endorse
Ouattara's candidacy. However, Charles Konan Banny,
former prime minister and PDCI member, refused to support
Ouattara and announced his own candidacy. On May 15, he
formed the National Coalition for Change (CNC) incorporating
parts of the FPI and other opposition parties.
Throughout the year, opposition parties organized multiple
protests especially in the south-west, accusing, among others,
the National Electoral Commission of being biased in
favor of the RDR. The government detained several journalists,
anti-government protesters, and opposition politicians.
For instance, on June 9, hundreds protested against the government
in the capital Abidjan and in several towns in the
districts of Comoé, Gôh-Djiboua, Sassandra-Marahoué, and
Montagnes. In Guiglo, Montagnes, RDR supporters killed
one FPI demonstrator. Furthermore, security forces used
tear gas during all protests, leaving 15 people injured. Police
suspected CNC of being responsible for organizing the
demonstrations, which was denied by the coalition.
On July 29, the publisher of a privately owned newspaper
was arrested for having printed critical articles against the
government. On September 10, FPI and government supporters
clashed over Ouattara's candidacy in the presidential
elections in several cities all over the country. While two
people were killed in Logouata, Gôh-Djiboua, the clashes
left a total of 52 people injured. The government arrested
another 20 opposition members, among them leading CNC
politician David Samba. The CNC and human rights organizations
blamed the authorities for restricting political rights
and detaining people based on their suspected opposition to
the government.
From October 13 to 23, three CNC presidential candidates,
among them Banny, withdrew their candidacies, claiming
that the elections would neither be transparent nor inclusive.
With 83.7 percent of the votes, Ouattara won the presidential
elections on October 25. FPI candidate Pascal Affi N'Guessan
received 9.3 percent. On November 3, the Constitutional
Council denied CNC's request to challenge the election results
and announced Ouattara as legal winner of the election.
On January 6, trials started against former FPI chairman Simone
Gbagbo and 81 other people connected to the party.
They were charged of crimes during the November 2010
post-election crisis. On March 10, an assize court sentenced
Gbagbo to 20 years in prison. Another 79 people were also
found guilty. lud
DR CONGO (BANTU BATWA / KATANGA)
Intensity: 4 | Change: | Start: 2013
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
Bantu vs. Batwa vs. government
subnational predominance
The conflict over subnational predominance in the east of
Katanga province between militias of the ethnic groups Bantu
and Batwa as well as between Batwa and the government continued
as a limited war.
On January 13 and 14, Bantu militiamen raided the towns of
Lwabe and Kabozo, Nyunzu territory, raping several women.
On January 17, Bantu fighters armed with axes, bows, and
machetes burned down a refugee camp in Nyunzu, killing
at least five Batwa and forcing several thousands to flee.
At the end of January, Batwa fighters attacked the Armed
Forces of the DR Congo (FARDC) in Mukebo villlage, Manono
territory. This was the first incident of this kind. Also in January,
Batwa established their own administration in Sange.
As a reaction, Bantu in nearby Lwaba organized in a new
militia. On February 9, Batwa militias attacked the village
of Nsenga-Tshimbu, Manono, killing four civilians, injuring
three, and kidnapping several others. In multiple attacks on
settlements in north-east Manono between February 10 and
28, Batwa fighters reportedly armed with bows and arrows
killed between eight and 18 civilians, injured at least twelve,
and forced approx. 800 to flee. On March 8, another Batwa
attack against the village of Kinsukulu, Kalemie territory, left
twelve Bantu dead and several injured. On March 23, the military
arrested twelve fighters allegedly belonging to the Bantu
militia called Elements in Mukwaka, Nyunzu. Bantu militants
armed with machetes, axes, bows, and arrows attacked the
refugee camp Cotanga, Nyunzu, on April 30, killing at least
30 and forcing several thousands to flee. A Batwa attack and
following clashes with Bantu fighters on May 1 left at least
six people dead, 30 injured, and 28 Bantu houses burned
down. On May 5, eight Bantu and a number of Batwa were
killed and at least 30 injured in clashes between militias in
Mukobo, Manono. Further clashes between Bantu and Batwa
in Kituwa, Manono, on June 3 left four dead. During the first
half of the year, at least 200 people were killed, 60 women
raped, and 113 villages destroyed.
According to the UN, the deployment of several thousand
troops by FARDC and MONUSCO in July reduced violence
significantly. A total of 330 Batwa militants belonging to the
group of Nyumba-Isha surrendered to the military in Mukebo,
Manono, while Nyumba-Isha refrained from turning himself
in. At the end of July, his group arrested the chiefs of three
villages in the groupement of Mambwe, Manono, accusing
them of issuing fishing licenses without prior authorization.
Sporadic attacks on villages by Batwa and Bantu militants
continued until the end of the year, with several people
being injured and property being looted. On December 6,
FARDC soldiers arrested a Bantu leader accused of founding
an ethnic militia in Nganza, Manono. wef
DR CONGO (EX-M23)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 2004
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
ex-M23 vs. government
subnational predominance
The conflict about subnational predominance in North Kivu
province between the former armed group M23 and the government
escalated to a violent crisis. M23 originated from
the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP),
a former rebel group mainly composed of ethnic Tutsis which
had been formed when ex-CNDP fighters deserted from the
Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2012.
For 18 months, M23 controlled large areas of Rutshuru territory
in North Kivu province, temporarily occupying North
Kivu's capital Goma in November 2012. After their defeat in
November 2013, 1,320 fighters fled to Uganda, while another
95 fighters surrendered in Rwanda. In the Nairobi Agreement
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