International Crisis Group
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Central Africa project

The scene of numerous violent wars causing massive human suffering in 1990s, Central Africa has been mired in armed conflicts that have defied the international community's capacity for crisis response and management. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the holding of national elections in 2006 closed an important chapter in the country’s postwar transition, but failures in army and police reform, insufficient infrastructure and poor governance have left many of the root causes of violence in tact. The situation in the east again escalated from mid-2008, with grave consequences for civilians. A new bilateral alliance with neighbouring Rwanda to move against the FDLR rebels in North Kivu signalled a new regional dynamic, but inadequate demobilisation of rebel groups and renewed attacks on civilians from early 2009 have underscored the urgency of a comprehensive political approach to address the ongoing crisis in the region.     

Hopes for an end to the 21-year conflict between the government of Uganda and the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) rebels have ebbed as the LRA leadership continues to evade signature of a final peace deal. An aggressive military campaign led by Kampala against LRA bases in northeast Congo from late 2008 dealt a new blow to the peace process; thousands were displaced in the bloody wave of rebel attacks that followed.

Burundi, embroiled in ethnic warfare since 1993, has completed its political transition and entered a critical peacebuilding period. The country’s peace process took a step forward in late 2008 with an agreement reached with the rebel group FNL, but gains remain fragile and continued political tensions point to new risks ahead of elections in 2010. 

In the Central African Republic, an Inclusive National Dialogue in December 2008, bringing together government, opposition, civil society and rebel groups raised hopes for progress after years of rebellion, repression and institutional decay. Yet consensus has quickly unraveled and in the context of mounting distrust several rebel groups have since moved to re-launch attacks. Violence in the north has been partly contained by the presence of foreign troops, but the region saw fresh clashes between rebel and government troops in early 2009 and the situation there remains highly volatile.

Despite the signing of two agreements during 2007 and the continued presence of international troops, the political and security crisis in Chad continues unabated. The country remains locked in an ongoing conflict between the government and the armed opposition, exacerbated by a proxy war being fought between the Chadian and Sudanese regimes that has left hundreds of thousands displaced.

Crisis Group’s Central Africa Project, from it’s headquarters in Nairobi and with analysts stationed throughout the region, reports regularly on the overlapping and multiple sources of conflict in the Central Africa, advocating concrete measures to address instability targeting both regional governments and the international community. 

Our most recent reports and briefings are listed below.  Articles, op-eds, speeches and media releases can be found under the media section.

For additional resources on the Conflict in the Congo (including op-eds, maps and new sources), visit our Congo campaign page.

 


Recent reports & briefings


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