Is War On The Decline In Africa?

Image from InformAfrica

Africa Is Becoming More Peaceful, Despite The War In Mali -- The Guardian

The continent is stereotyped as being violent and increasingly unstable, but a closer look suggests that conflict is declining

Recent events in Mali, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Sudan seem to confirm one of the most durable stereotypes of Africa, namely that the continent is unstable and uniquely prone to nasty political violence.

Writing in Foreign Policy two years ago, New York Times east Africa correspondent and Pulitzer Prize winner Jeffrey Gettleman espoused this view. He painted a dismal picture of pointless wars waged by brutes and criminals "spreading across Africa like a viral pandemic."

Gettleman is right that warfare and political violence are changing on the continent, but he is wrong to portray that change as one of brutal violence increasing out of control.

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My Comment: I am not that optimistic. Tribalism and ethnic animosities has been Africa's curse since the beginning .... and it does not take much for it to escalate into major regional conflicts. There may be peace in many parts of Africa today .... but history has taught us that such conditions are usually temporary.

New Fight For Congo's Riches

From The Khaleej Times:

It is one of the world's most resource-rich countries, with huge deposits of diamonds, gold and copper. For a decade, the Democratic Republic of Congo was torn apart as factions backed by neighbouring countries wreaked murderous havoc on Africa's third-biggest country. Three million died.

As war subsided in all but the eastern region of this vast nation, a new regime led by Joseph Kabila signed dozens of valuable mining contracts with Western concerns based in the southern Katanga region. Only now are the implications of those contracts coming to light.­

'The losers, of course, are not the companies who willingly entered into questionable arrangements, but the Congolese people,' says Patricia Feeney, executive director of Rights and Accountability in Development, a renowned expert in Congolese mining.

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More News on The Congo:
Congo-Kinshasa: Humanitarians Pick Up the Pieces As Insecurity Persists in North Kivu -- All Africa
Boost UN force in Congo to tackle LRA rebels, US says -- Reuters Alert
International prosecutors press for Congo war crimes trial -- USA Today

My Comment: Africa's longest and bloodiest war is about to enter a new stage. With billions of dollars in resources up for grabs, and a climate where no one wants to discuss and negotiate a political solution .... this war is about to increase big time.