Abstract:
Violent conflict escalated in Africa in 2014, with five sub-Saharan states – the Central
African Republic (CAR), Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan – accounting for
an estimated 75% of all conflict-related deaths on the continent. This paper provides
an overview of the five major sub-Saharan African conflicts in 2014 and considers
the underlying causes and dynamics in the Seleka/anti-Balaka conflict in the CAR,
the Islamist threats of Boko Haram and al-Shabaab in Nigeria and Somalia, the civil
war in South Sudan, and the long-running conflict between Sudan’s government and
southern and Darfuri rebels. The paper unpacks the general trends evident in these
conflicts and the implications for the settlement thereof, including the targeting of
civilians, ethnic and religious mobilisation and the state as epicentre of violence. The
paper concludes with a brief look ahead to 2015.
