II. Organized violence in the Horn of Africa

Chapter:

2. Armed conflict

Source:

SIPRI Yearbook 2012

Author(s):

Marie Allansson, Jonas Baumann, Samuel Taub, Lotta Themnér, Peter Wallensteen Uppsala Conflict Data Program, Marcus Nilsson, Camilla Schippa, Thomas Morgan Institute for Economics and Peace

For decades, the countries in the Horn of Africa—Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia (see figure 2.1)—have been plagued by organized violence. However, despite the vast scale of human suffering, the region tends to make the international headlines only when the focus is on piracy or droughts. To provide a coherent overview of the violence that affects the Horn of Africa, this section therefore analyses the region through the lens of UCDP’s three categories of organized violence: armed conflict between and within states, one-sided violence against civilians, and violence between non-state actors.¹