ConflictBarometer_2016

MIDDLE EAST AND MAGHREB
eight executed soldiers and of more than a dozen civilians.
On December 7, BDB started an offensive in the Sirte basin
and temporarily took control over the cities Ben Jawad and
Nawfaliya. They were pushed back by LNA forces with air
support. Whereas BDB killed at least four LNA personnel and
wounded eight, LNA said it killed eight BDB members.
The central branch of the Petroleum Facility Guard forces
(PFG), led by Ibrahim Jadhran, which had not been permanently
aligned with any of the major conflict parties, declared
support for the UN-backed PC this year. LNA seized
the oil ports of al-Sidra, Ras Lanuf, and Zueitina in September
from Jadhran, with whom the UN-backed PC had previously
reached an agreement to reopen the ports. A failed
attempt by the group to recapture its former strongholds on
September 12 resulted in the death of five PFG-Central fighters
and four LNA forces. Earlier, on June 20, a LNA aircraft
had bombed a PFG training camp in Wahat district. While
LNA accused Jadhran's forces of supporting BDB, PFG's central
forces claimed to be fighting BDB on behalf of the PC.
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MAURITANIA (ANTI-SLAVERY ACTIVISTS)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 2015
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
IRA vs. government
system/ideology
The violent crisis between anti-slavery activists, mainly the
Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement
(IRA), on the one hand, and the government, on the other, over
the abolition of modern slavery and resulting issues of land
rights and civil rights, continued.
On March 14, Mauritania became the second African country
to ratify the 2014 UN Protocol to the Forced Labour Convention
which prescribed measures to effectively prosecute slavery
and compensate victims. However, activists continued to
criticize the insufficient implementation of anti-slavery laws.
Throughout the year, IRA-associated campaigners protested
against the ongoing disenfranchisement of former slaves and
the government's crackdown on abolitionist activism.
As in 2015, the police repeatedly arrested anti-slavery activists.
Both sides accused each other of using violence. For
instance on January 11, seven IRA activists were detained
while rallying for the release of IRA-founder Biram Dah Abeid
in the capital Nouakchott. Biram Dah Abeid was convicted
in January 2015 for ''inciting trouble” and ''belonging to an
unrecognized organization.” He was released from prison on
May 18, after the Supreme Court had decided on the reduction
of his sentence.
On May 24, a court in Nema, Hodh Ech Chargui Region, sentenced
two slave owners to two years in prison, which activists
considered as a major success in the prosecution of
slavery.
Following protests against forced relocation, clashes erupted
in an informal settlement called Gazra Bouamatou on the outskirts
of Nouakchott on June 29, leaving ten police officers
wounded. Subsequently, police reportedly arrested 13 antislavery
activists on charges of attacking security forces. On
October 25, police allegedly used tear gas and batons against
183
IRA-activists holding a sit-in protest outside the Palace of Justice
in Nouakchott in support of the 13 prisoners.
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MOROCCO (POLISARIO / WESTERN SAHARA)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 1975
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
POLISARIO vs. government
secession
The violent crisis over the secession of Western Sahara between
the Popular Front of the Liberation of Saguia al-Hamra
and Rio de Oro (POLISARIO), representing the Sahrawi people
who are the inhabitants of Western Sahara, and the government
continued.
Throughout the year, protesters in several cities of Western
Sahara repeatedly denounced the deprivation of the Sahrawi
people's civil rights by the government. For instance, on January
20, Sahrawis protested in the city Boujdour, Laâyoune-
Sakia El Hamra region, demanding the right to work. Security
forces reportedly injured several protesters and arrested four
Sahrawis. On December 10, the police dispersed protests
commemorating the International Day of Human Rights in
El Aaiun, Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra region, allegedly injuring
many.
After POLISARIO leader Mohmaed Abdelaziz, died from illness
on May 31, Brahim Gali was sworn in as the new Secretary
General of POLISARIO on June 7.
According to a statement made by authorities on August 15,
ten security personnel were sent to Guerguerat, Oued ed
Dahab-Lagouira region in Western Sahara to prevent alleged
drug trafficking at the Moroccan-Mauritanian border. In response,
POLISARIO stationed armed troops in the same area,
accusing the government of violating the ceasefire enacted in
1991.
On the international level, the conflict intensified. The government
suspended contacts with all European institutions
on February 25 in reaction to the European Court of Justice's
(ECJ) decision that Western Sahara could opt out of a trade
agreement with the EU which the Moroccan government negotiated
for Western Sahara. However, on December 21, the
ECJ ruled that the agreement did not include the Western Sahara
and could thus be implemented. The decision was welcomed
by POLISARIO and the government.
On a visit to the Western Sahara at the beginning of March,
UN General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon described the Moroccan
takeover of Western Sahara from Spain in 1975 as an occupation.
Consequently, the government expelled 84 UN civilian
staff on March 20. The next day, the UN closed its military
liaison office in Western Sahara. Nonetheless, on April 29,
the UNSC extended the MINURSO mission for another year.
On June 17, the government allowed around 25 civilian staff
members to return to the UN peacekeeping mission. In August,
the UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Western
Sahara, Christopher Ross, resumed his diplomatic efforts
to resolve the conflict. sge