Sub-Saharan Africa

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Program(s): Congo Research Group, Prevention and Peacebuilding

Who are the Killers of Beni?

Since October 2014, the region around the town of Beni in north eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) has been the site of some of the worst massacres in the country’s recent history. Over five hundred people have been killed and tens of thousands have fled their homes. The UN mission and the Congolese government have publicly stated that the massacres are the work of Ugandan rebels from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).

Publication Date: Mar 22, 2016

Author(s) / Contributor(s): Jason Stearns

Region/Country: Sub-Saharan Africa

Topic(s): Crises, Humanitarian Crises

Program(s): Congo Research Group

ICC Convicts Former Congo Vice President Bemba of War Crimes

The International Criminal Court found Jean-Pierre Bemba, a former rebel leader and presidential candidate in the Democratic Republic of Congo, guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

“The chamber finds that Bemba is criminally responsible for murder, rape, pillage and war crimes” in the Central African Republic in 2002 and 2003, Judge Sylvia Steiner said in a ruling read at The Hague-based court on Monday. Bemba had faced two counts of crimes against humanity and three counts of war crimes related to murder, rape and pillaging committed by his troops in the country.

Publication Date: Mar 21, 2016

Author(s) / Contributor(s): Thomas Wilson, Corina Rhue, Jason Stearns

Region/Country: Sub-Saharan Africa

Program(s): Prevention and Peacebuilding

Topic(s): Crises, Humanitarian Crises

Congo Army Involved in Attacks on Civilians, Group Says

Members of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s army have been involved in attacks on civilians in the country’s northeast that have left more than 500 people dead since 2014, the Congo Research Group said.

Congo’s government and the United Nations previously blamed the assaults on the Allied Democratic Forces, an insurgent group originally based in Uganda that has operated along Congo’s border since the late 1990’s.

Publication Date: Mar 21, 2016

Author(s) / Contributor(s): Thomas Wilson, Jason Stearns

Region/Country: Sub-Saharan Africa

Program(s): Prevention and Peacebuilding

Topic(s): Crises, Humanitarian Crises

Congo Opposition to Hold Protest Over Jailing of Youth Activists

A pro-democracy group in the Democratic Republic of Congo said it will lead a protest Tuesday to demand the release of two youth activists who’ve been held in prison for 12 months awaiting sentencing.

Publication Date: Mar 16, 2016

Author(s) / Contributor(s): Thomas Wilson, Jason Stearns

Region/Country: Sub-Saharan Africa

Program(s): Prevention and Peacebuilding

Rwanda should have been a wake-up call. Why do the crises continue?

Each week, In Theory takes on a big idea in the news and explores it from a range of perspectives. This week we’re talking about the Responsibility to Protect doctrine. Need a primer? Catch up here.

Sarah Cliffe and Hanny Megally serve as director and senior fellow, respectively, at the New York University Center on International Cooperation.

Publication Date: Feb 22, 2016

Author(s) / Contributor(s): Sarah Cliffe, Hanny Megally

Region/Country: Sub-Saharan Africa

Program(s): Prevention and Peacebuilding

Topic(s): Crises, Fragile States, Peace Operations

Seven Big Crisis Management Questions for a Disorderly World in 2016

International conflict management is not necessarily a rewarding occupation for people who have neat and orderly minds. Well-made plans tend to fall apart in fast-moving crises. As I noted in a chapter in a book on the Security Council published earlier this year, the recent history of United Nations peace operations is basically a story of “one damn thing after another.” U.N.

Publication Date: Dec 28, 2015

Author(s) / Contributor(s): Richard Gowan

Region/Country: Europe, Middle East, Libya, United States, Sub-Saharan Africa

Program(s): Prevention and Peacebuilding

Topic(s): Global Governance, International Security, United Nations

A rare map of the most complex conflict on earth

The war in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo was one of the most complex conflicts on Earth.

Publication Date: Dec 16, 2015

Region/Country: Sub-Saharan Africa

Program(s): Prevention and Peacebuilding

Topic(s): Crises, Fragile States, Humanitarian Crises

The arrest of Ladislas Ntaganzwa

CIC Senior Fellow and Congo expert Jason Stearns speaks with the BBC about the arrest of Ladislas Ntaganzwa. Listen to the full interview by clicking the title or .mp3 below:

Publication Date: Dec 10, 2015

Author(s) / Contributor(s): Jason Stearns

Region/Country: Sub-Saharan Africa

Program(s): Prevention and Peacebuilding

The Landscape of Armed Groups in Eastern Congo

Nineteen years after the beginning of the Congo wars, armed conflict still affects millions in the east of the country. This essay by CRG director Jason Stearns and our senior fellow Christoph Vogel accompanies a map of armed groups, compiled by researchers across North and South Kivu, in which we catalogue over seventy groups. This is far from a static picture, and we highlight key shifts that have emerged over the past two years: a decline of regional involvement, a fragmentation of armed groups, and a modest drop in the political manipulation of armed groups.

Publication Date: Nov 25, 2015

Author(s) / Contributor(s): Jason Stearns, Christoph Vogel

Region/Country: Sub-Saharan Africa

Topic(s): Crises, Humanitarian Crises

Program(s): Congo Research Group