Conflicts, crises, flashpoints in Africa

Africa Union, (AU) Chairperson, Jean Ping addresses a press conference at the 16 Ordinary Summit of the AU in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa on January 29, 2010. – AFP Photo ADDIS ABABA: List of main conflicts, crises and flashpoints in Africa ahead of the African Union's summit January 30-31 in Addis Ababa. TUNISIA A month of violent protests that resulted in dozens of deaths forced authoritarian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to flee the country on January 14, ending his 23 year-rule. Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi caved in to pressure from demonstrators Thursday by forming a new cabinet backed by the powerful labour union UGTT. EGYPT Since January 25 Egypt has been facing unprecedented protests challenging President Hosni Mubarak's three-decade rule and his perpetual state of emergency. Mubarak's announcement Friday of a government reshuffle failed to appease public anger. IVORY COAST The Ivory Coast is mired in a two-month-old power struggle between incumbent strongman Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara, the internationally recognised winner of disputed November elections. More than 270 people lost their lives during the violence that erupted from the stalemate, according to the United Nations. SOMALIA Ravaged by a two-decade-old civil war, the al-Shebab insurgent group controls most of the country while the government commands only a few sections of the capital thanks to the presence of African Union forces. The insurgents killed 76 people in double blasts last July in Uganda's capital Kampala, in retaliation for its major role in the African Union’s peacekeeping mission. SUDAN An overwhelming majority of South Sudanese voted in favour of independence in January elections, following a 2005 peace treaty that ended two decades of civil war. Meanwhile the International Criminal Court has issued two warrants for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir's arrest on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur, which has been gripped by civil war since 2003. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO Conflicts between armed groups in the country’s eastern region have been continuing for over a decade. DRC soldiers are routinely accused of rape and looting. CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC The Central African Republic held elections on January 23 in a bid to end years of instability, but the results are contested. Rebels of Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), who have been active since 1988, have installed units in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as well as the Central African Republic. BURUNDI Scarred from a decade of civil war (1993-2006) that killed 300,000 people, the country has been in a political deadlock since contested 2010 elections which returned the ruling party to power. NIGERIA Attacks against oil refineries in the country's south forced production in the world's eighth biggest oil exporter to slump since 2006. Nigeria is often the scene of ethnic and religious conflicts. MADAGASCAR The country has been mired in a political crisis since late 2008 after president Marc Ravalomanana was ousted and replaced by his army-backed rival Andry Rajoelina. SAHEL In the north African Sahel region, the group Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQMI) operates in a vast desert zone around Mauritania, Algeria, Mali and Niger. The insurgent group, which currently holds seven people hostage (five French, one Togolese and one Malagasy) said it was behind the kidnapping of two French men, who were killed amid a French-backed rescue operation.