Recent African Wars

Posted by Sean Sinclair-Day Jan 9, 2007

In addition to the atrocities committed in Darfur, the African continent has experienced a rash of conflict over the past few decades. Fighting has begun to intensify in Somalia but here are some other recent African wars that have, more or less, come to a conclusion.

The Second Congo War (1998 to 2003): Africa's worst modern war and the world's worst conflict since World War Two. One could argue that the war has yet to finish as Congo's eastern provinces still experience some rebel activity under Peter Karim and Laurent Nkunda.

The Rwandan Genocide (1994): this infamous war saw the massacre of Tutsis and moderate Hutus en masse. Deaths are commonly quoted at being 800,000 over 100 days but the Rwandan government has put the official toll at 937,000.

Ugandan Government vs. The Lord's Resistance Army (1987 to present) : Under the leadership of Joseph Kony, the LRA launched their insurgency that would lead to the deaths of up to 100,000 people, the abduction of between 20 to 30,000 child soldiers and almost 2 million Acholi people forced to live in Internally Displaced Persons Camps. They are still trying to negotiate a peace deal in Juba, Sudan.

Burundi Civil War: another conflict between ethnic Tutsis and rival Hutus claiming the lives of approximately 300,000 since 1993. The election of Pierre Nkurunziza in 2005 is usually considered the end to the war but there is still unrest within the country.

Liberia and Sierra Leone: Charles Taylor is currently in a cell in The Hague, charged with 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. He is viewed as the most culpable figure behind a series of wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone that led to the deaths of about 400,000 people between 1989 and 2003.