Emergency declared as elephant poached
Johannesburg – An emergency was declared as the first elephant was poached on the western border of Kruger National Park. Each day in Africa around 100 elephants die at the hands of poachers. Almost all the killing has occurred beyond the borders of South Africa but, as the escalating slaughter of rhinos in Kruger National Park shows, when the ivory poachers move south they could be unstoppable. For this reason, when a dead snared elephant with its tusks removed was found in
Suicide bombers kill over 30 in Cameroon and Nigeria
A child and a middle-aged woman were deployed as suicide bombers in the Far North Region of Cameroon and in Yobe state in Nigeria over the weekend. The two attacks killed at least 34 people and wounded more than 100 others. No group has yet to take responsibility for the bombings, but the Islamic State’s West Africa province (ISWA), formerly known as Boko Haram, is widely suspected. According to AFP, a 12-year-old girl detonated in a popular and crowded bar in Maroua, Cameroo
Shabaab targets Jazeera hotel in Mogadishu
Shabaab, al Qaeda’s official branch in Somalia, has claimed responsibility for bombing the popular Jazeera hotel in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Sunday. The blast killed more than 10 people and wounded many others. According to the BBC, the jihadist group used a truck packed with explosives to target the hotel. A local police officer told Reuters that the truck “rammed the gates of the hotel” before detonating and an aid worker said that at least 21 people were injured
Teenage suicide bombers kill more than 20 in northern Cameroon
The Islamic State’s West Africa province (ISWA), formerly known as Boko Haram, killed more than 20 people in a double suicide attack in northern Cameroon that was executed by two teenage girls. The jihadist group has used women and girls of various ages to carry out suicide attacks in Nigeria and Cameroon over the past year. Both ISWA suicide bombers, who attacked a market and an adjoining neighborhood in Maroua, the capital of the Far Northern Region, were under the age of 1
Could this collar save poached rhinos?
Could a GPS satellite collar be the answer to South Africa's extensive poaching problem? One non-profit organisation believes so... A British-led team from non-profit organisation Protect has developed a new anti-poaching device aimed at saving rhinos from poachers. The Protect RAPID (Real-time Anti Poaching Intelligence Device) combines a GPS satellite collar with a heart rate monitor and a video camera. "Broadcasting 24/7 real time information to a control centre, anti-poac
Congolese ivory kingpin wriggles out of yet another arrest
The video is shaky having been secretly captured. But the image of the table full of polished ivory artifacts and the merchant sitting behind them is clear. “How much?” asks the undercover agent, holding up a small ivory bracelet. Following a brisk response, the merchant reaches out a hand weighed down by a flashy, gold watch… $80 is exchanged for the life of an elephant. NAFTALI HONIG reports. Soon after the ivory purchase, the police force burst in on the scene in this Braz
Pushing Ivory Out of Africa: A Case Study from the Field
A criminal intelligence analysis of elephant poaching and ivory trafficking in east Africa. This case study takes data directly from the field collected by Global Eye and Elephant Action League assets who infiltrated four elephant poaching and ivory trafficking networks in East Africa. What we found is in some respects at odds with the accepted law enforcement and conservation narratives assigned to ivory trafficking. Click here to read the report. #Poaching
Shabaab ambushes Burundian troops near Leego
Shabaab, al Qaeda’s official branch in Somalia, ambushed a convoy of Burundian troops on a road near the southern town of Leego. The jihadist group released a video highlighting the attack on July 13, but no date was given for when the ambush took place. The video begins with a message that reads “From the French and those who followed suit, today we sign with the blood of the dogs from the Burundian crusaders. Tomorrow, we will sign with your blood, God willing.” After the s
Peacebuilding Review Urges Long-Haul Approach for UN
In the United Nations’ quest for peace, the decision to create the Peacebuilding Commission, the Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO), and the Peacebuilding Fund in 2005 was hailed as a significant achievement. However, five years later, the first review of this peacebuilding architecture was characterized as one of unrealized hopes. Recommendations were made to fill in the gaps, but by 2015, hopes had further diminished, according to recent surveys. In 2015, a new in-depth re
CONFLICT TRENDS (NO. 39) REAL-TIME ANALYSIS OF AFRICAN POLITICAL VIOLENCE, JULY 2015
Welcome to the July issue of the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project’s (ACLED) Conflict Trends report. Each month, ACLED researchers gather, analyse and publish data on political vio- lence in Africa in realtime. Weekly updates to realtime conflict event data are published on the ACLED website, and are also available through our research partners at Climate Change and Afri- can Political Stability (CCAPS). This month’s issue focuses on the shift in political strategy
