Delta Force: Power, War and Money in Nigeria’s South-South
Peace in the Niger Delta – bought in 2009 with an amnesty programme for militants – is currently faltering. Formerly armed youths have seen their leaders like Government Ekpemupolo alias Tompolo (picture) getting rich through government contracts and security services. But the causes of the deep and multidimensional crisis in the Delta have not been tackled. Attacks of a new group, the Niger Delta Avengers, shut down oil production dramatically. Read in my text published by Konkret 7/16 here (German, pdf).
Eritrea: Let’s Get Out of Here!
My latest article for Jungle World deals with the humanitarian situation in Eritrea. According to some estimates, up to 5000 people try to leave the country every month. The United Nations Human Rights Commission issued a report on Eritrea in June. It accuses the regime under Isayas Afewerki of crimes against humanity. You can download the article here or check Jungle World’s website.
South Sudan: No State, Nowhere
The latest issue of Blätter des Informationszentrums Dritte Welt (iz3w) is devoted to questions around separatism. I contributed a piece on South Sudan, where the high hopes of the people at the time of independence 2011 have been frustrated by the ruling SPLM. Since 2013, the war between two factions of the SPLM killed tens of thousands and displaced millions. You can download the article as pdf here.
A Case of Ruthless Realpolitik
Germany presses ahead with its cooperation with regimes in the Horn of Africa, among them the Sudan and Eritrea. As investigations by Der Spiegel and TV magazine Report Mainz have shown, the government-sponsored Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) will realise a project aiming at tougher border controls between the Sudan and Eritrea. Doing so, it cooperates with the very same countries that are responsible for displacement and forced migration. Read my comment in Jungle World (pdf here) or use the link to JW’s website).
Book Review: Alex de Waal on the Horn of Africa
My review of Alex de Waal’s recent book, ‘The Real Politics of the Horn of Africa. Money, War and the Business of Power’ has been published in the June issue of Konkret Magazine. You can download the article (German) here.
Zimbabwe: The Leaden Times
My latest article on recent developments in Zimbabwe appeared today in Jungle World (html here, you can also download the page with the text as pdf). The opposition to Zanu PF rule is in deep trouble notwithstanding the latest demonstrations against President Robert Mugabe in mid-April. Scholars Brian Raftopoulos and Julia Gallagher answered my questions concerning the situation in Zimbabwe.
République du Congo: Sassou à Jamais?
The Ninja are back. After disputed elections in Congo (Brazzaville), army checkpoints, police stations and a government building were attacked by armed men on Monday this week. The rulers under President Denis Sassou-Nguesso blame the violence on a militia that was involved in the war in Congo during the 1990. I wrote an article on these developments and the elections for Jungle World. You find it here as html, and you can download the pdf here.
Nigeria: The Big Clean-Up
The Nigerian army and its international allies succeeded during the past months in repelling the jihadists of Boko Haram. The terror group seems delibitated. In the meantime, the government published a report on corruption in the security sector. It mentions more than 300 firms and individuals accused of embezzlement in relation to finances designated for the fight against Boko Haram. Read my report in the latest issue of Jungle World or download the page as pdf.
Terror in the Sahel
Since at least the attack on beach restaurants in Grand Bassam, Côte d’Ivoire, it is obvious that the terror in West Africa is here to stay. Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (Aqim) took responsibility for the onslaught and the murder of almost two dozen people. Read my analysis in Jungle World here or download the page as pdf.
South Sudan: Horror and Morsels
A new UN report details the brutality and the sexualised violence against women and children by factions in South Sudan’s civil war. In the meantime, the Women body of the United Nations invites the spouses of President Salva Kiir and his rival, Riek Machar, to New York to speak about “the role of women in the peace process”. Here is my report. (more…)
Africa: Politics and Societies South of the Sahara 
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