Fighting is engulfing 10% of Africa, Verisk Maplecroft says

Conflict in the region has intensified since 2010.

About 10% of Africa is embroiled in conflict, with fighting having spread and intensified over the past three years, according to Verisk Maplecroft.

In addition to a civil war that’s been raging in Sudan for the past 19 months, insecurity has worsened across the west of the Sahel region after a series of coups, the risk advisory firm said in a report released on Thursday. It noted that junta leaders in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger who pledged to step up the fight against Islamist insurgents had instead presided over a deterioration in security.

“Nowhere is the escalation in violence more pronounced than in Burkina Faso, where 86% of the country is directly embroiled or in close proximity to a conflict,” Verisk Maplecroft said.

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It estimates that 44% of Nigeria’s territory is engulfed by fighting, twice the area that was affected three years ago. Africa’s most-populous nation is contending with an Islamist insurgency, a kidnapping-for-ransom crisis and widespread banditry.

“All indicators point towards a further intensification of violence in 2025, suggesting that the situation is likely to get worse,” said Hugo Brennan, Verisk Maplecroft’s research director.

© 2024 Bloomberg

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