Global defence spend has accelerated in recent years, reaching historic highs in many countries. Tamsin Hunt examines some of the developments driving increased military spending around the world.
Despite the UN, state authorities, and non-governmental organisations’ repeated calls for better protection of aid workers, attacks on them have been increasing in Sub-Saharan Africa, writes Saif Islam.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s North Kivu and Ituri provinces have been under military administration since May. Yet, despite promises of increased security, attacks against civilians have continued as the government prioritises the security of strategic thoroughfares, writes Darren Davids.
Militant groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo have increasingly targeted aid and other NGO workers in eastern DRC. Darren Davids writes that the weak security environment allows militant groups to act with impunity, including carrying out kidnappings
Wrongful detention, kidnapping and targeted attacks will likely remain the primary threats to NGO personnel in the coming year.
Since the first examples of CBRN agents being used in warfare, developments in treatment and prevention have been struggling to keep up. Options to mitigate the harmful effects of CBRN agents on the civilian population have been relatively limited until recent years.
Amid the protracted conflict in the eastern DRC, local militias have started to attack Ebola treatment centres in Butembo and Beni, North Kivu, killing medical staff and forcing the closure of several facilities. Erin Drake considers the threat to health workers and medical treatment facilities in this conflict area.
Following the effective collapse of the Islamic State caliphate across Syria and Iraq in February 2019, the terrorist group appears to have extended its reach to new territories including the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sri Lanka. In the space of one week, Islamic State took credit for terror attacks in both countries. Markus Korhonen places these…
Following the widely contested presidential election result in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tristan Puri provides an overview of the current political uncertainty in the country. This briefing note highlights the threats presented to foreign investors by the possibility of escalating violence, potential further sanctions on DRC officials, and…
In August, president Joseph Kabila and the ruling Parti du Peuple pour la Reconstruction et la Démocratie (PPRD) backed Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary as the party’s candidate in the long awaited December 2018 elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The somewhat unexpected announcement ended prolonged speculation that the incumbent would seek…