Struggling for Peace in Africa

By Guy Feugap, World BEYOND War, March 4, 2024

A growing number of peace activist in Africa are taking action for peace and thinking about how to end wars. Our chapters and prospective chapters want the world to know in which context they are working and what they are doing.

CAMEROON

The country’s security situation in February continues to give cause for concern. On February 11, an attack in the town of Nkambe, in the North-West region, left a person dead and dozens seriously injured. It was an attack on civilians, and children in particular. Prior to this date, a Subdivisional Officer and his convoy were attacked and kidnapped on February 6. The war in this region of Cameroon has been going on since 2016. National stakeholders have denounced these atrocities and have consistently called for the laying down of weapons and for dialogue to end the war. WBW’s Cameroon chapter is engaged in an awareness-raising campaign on the need for peace, the preservation of life, the fight against hate speech and the promotion of living together and justice for all.

SENEGAL

In addition to the ongoing conflicts in Casamance, which call for education in peace and non-violence, the news in Senegal in February was marked by riots linked to the postponement of elections. The WBW Chapter here has called for non-violence on its social networks, while supporting civil disobedience, as it considers what has been done to be a serious attack on democracy and respect for human rights.

It is also worth warning that Senegal could find itself caught up in the turmoil of Sahelian violence, as there is increasing talk of terrorism coming from the Sahel. Peace in Africa remains a preoccupation of the Senegalese Chapter, which is continuing its ” Get your troops out of Djibouti ” campaign. Despite little involvement from other Africans, a webinar presentation on the campaign is underway to explain the current situation in this small country which hosts 8 foreign military bases.

MALI

The Mali Chapter of WBW is undertaking steps to play an active role in peacebuilding in the country. The Chapter became official in Mali in February 2024 as a national association. Given the current context of terrorism and attacks between the state and certain armed groups signatories to the agreement, the Chapter aims to focus its first action on peace education through the establishment of peace clubs at schools and universities. This programme aims to enable young people to appreciate the importance of peace for the development and to be equipped with essential knowledge and skills to reduce violence in all its forms in society and their communities, in particular in the current context.

The security situation in Mali is marked by the Mali army’s offensive against terrorist groups (including some signatories to the 2015-peace agreement), although attacks on civilians and soldiers continue. This month of February, Malian armed forces neutralised a terrorist leader and about fifteen of his accomplices in a military operation. In addition, the transitional authorities announced the “immediate end” of the agreement for peace and reconciliation in Algiers after eight years of implementation. However, they announced the establishment of an inter-Malian dialogue framework that should provide an opportunity to build lasting peace in Mali. An inter-Malian dialogue committee has already been set up to prepare and organise the dialogue.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

On December 20, 2023, the Democratic Republic of Congo held nationwide general elections, but atrocities were reported in eastern DRC in the provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu and Grand Katanga. There has been a loss of human life, internal displacement and an increase in the illicit circulation of weapons. The members of WBW’s prospective Chapter in the DRC have joined with other organizations to denounce this alarming situation and present WBW’s peace declaration as a means of acting in solidarity to put an end to wars around the world.

TOGO

Togo is a prospective Chapter, which during the month of February began a campaign to raise awareness of the WBW Declaration of Peace, through prospects and community platforms. An information meeting for activists mobilized to form the Togo chapter is in preparation. Exchange sessions will be held with the head of Jeunes Volontaires pour l’Environnement (JVE Togo), and the Association Jeunes Verts Togo, for a partnership around the Climate/Environment issue in relation to war and its consequences on the environment and climate.

Togo is currently facing a terrorist threat. Groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda (or, since 2016, the Islamic State) are no longer able to conquer Bamako militarily, if they ever were, but – a perverse effect of the military pressure exerted on them – their presence has extended far beyond the desert confines of northern Mali. Rural areas in Burkina Faso and the west of Niger are now largely under their control. Northern Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin and eastern Senegal are now in their target zones. Since 2022, terrorist groups from the Sahel have been gradually extending their reach and threatening the West African coast, including Togo, where attacks are multiplying in the north, targeting civilians and military personnel. Togo declared a “state of security emergency” in its northern border on June 13, 2022, in response to the first lethal terrorist attack in the country’s history in May.