ReliefWeb

EVENT: On June 6, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement reiterated its rejection of the 2008 census results. SIGNIFICANCE: The census results are an important basis for electoral preparations and...

EVENT: Government fighters launched a counter-offensive on June 2 against hardline Islamist militant groups, Hisbul Islam and al-Shabaab. SIGNIFICANCE: The government has barely survived a concerted...

EVENT: Former US President Bill Clinton's appointment as UN special envoy to Haiti was announced last week. SIGNIFICANCE: Clinton's appointment reflects renewed engagement with Haiti, after failure...

EVENT: On April 23, an international donor conference in Brussels pledged more than 213 million dollars to bolster security in Somalia. SIGNIFICANCE: Severe insecurity and the absence of an effective...

EVENT: Rwandan troops face a February 28 deadline to withdraw from Congolese territory. SIGNIFICANCE: President Joseph Kabila invited the Rwandan army into the country to conduct a joint offensive...

EVENT: Israel launched ground operations against Hamas on January 3, moving to divide the Gaza Strip in three and seizing a number of open areas from which rockets have been fired. SIGNIFICANCE: The...

EVENT: Sri Lankan troops are pressing further into rebel-held territory after taking the key stronghold of Kilinochchi on January 2. SIGNIFICANCE: The loss of Kilinochchi is a major blow to the...

EVENT: Israel today rejected a French proposal for a 48-hour ceasefire in Gaza, continuing its air campaign and massing troops for ground operations. SIGNIFICANCE: While Hamas and Israel entered into...

EVENT: Negotiations for a ceasefire in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are due to resume in Nairobi on January 7. SIGNIFICANCE: The first round of talks in early December failed to break the...

EVENT: A section of the Guinean military seized power in a bloodless coup on SIGNIFICANCE: The coup came hours after the announcement of the death of Lansana Conte, military strongman and president...

SUBJECT: The political and economic outlook for Southern Africa in 2009. SIGNIFICANCE: Southern Africa faces heightened political and economic strains in the year ahead. The security outlook in...

SUBJECT: The outlook for conflict and security in the Darfur, Chad, Central African Republic border region in 2009. SIGNIFICANCE: A pattern of separate but sometimes overlapping conflicts will...

SUBJECT: The political and economic outlook for the Horn of Africa in 2009. SIGNIFICANCE: The region in 2009 will continue to see some of the world's worst humanitarian, political, and security...

EVENT: On October 15 Southern Sudan's minister of finance, Kuol Athian, revealed that military spending was set to far exceed budget. SIGNIFICANCE: Since early October, pirates have been holding a...

EVENT: The Sri Lanka Army is poised to capture the key rebel town of Kilinochchi, an army spokesman said yesterday. SIGNIFICANCE: The army has advanced along the western coast to within two miles of...

EVENT: On September 1, the prime minister overwhelmingly won a confidence vote. SIGNIFICANCE: The Transitional Federal Government is under pressure to mend its divisions, after reaching a deal with...

SUBJECT: The effect of a growing food emergency on security in the Horn of Africa. SIGNIFICANCE: Poverty, drought and food insecurity are well known in the Horn of Africa. This latest emergency...

EVENT: Despite a brief ceasefire yesterday afternoon, heavy clashes continued this morning in South Ossetia, all negotiations having broken down. SIGNIFICANCE: Despite international calls to halt...

EVENT: EU South Caucasus Special Representative Peter Semneby on Wednesday warned of "serious developments" in the Georgia-Ossetia conflict zone. SIGNIFICANCE: South Ossetia is often considered the...

EVENT: The World Food Summit in Rome on the impact of surging global food prices closed on June 5. SIGNIFICANCE: While world leaders debate how to bolster food output and ease pressures on...