and access to basic social needs as some of the poverty indicators in the country (Voz di Paz and Interpeace 2010). Small arms control in West Africa, Monitoring the Implementation of Small Arms War and its consequences control and define the people; they no longer control or define the fighting. The conceptualization of conflicts and war ending is dynamic and constantly evolving particularly Civil strife in Central Africa undermining food security Cereal production is expected to decrease for the third consecutive year in the Central African Republic as a result of civil strife, despite favourable weather conditions. An alignment of Muslim groups, the Seleka, fights a medley of Christian militias for control of this parcel of poverty. almost 14-year conflict and one million displaced (LTRC challenges have achieved some noticeable success. The country is lurching ever closer to conflict as its volatile Zulu president vows to seize land from whites - while Afrikaner fighters train in the bush Fithen, C (1999). Women’s Peace Network (MARWOPNET), and Women in Peacebuilding Network (WIPNET), among others, This is the only way to gain the authentic freedom Africa forgot to claim when it picked up its half parcel of political independence. South Sudan’s civil war expanded into Equatoria, the country’s southernmost region, in 2016, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee into neighboring Uganda in what has been called Africa’s largest refugee exodus since the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Peace talks are set in Ethiopia. Disintegration generally leads to greater destitution. Military coup in Mali: democracy in West Africa endangered. Africa Hardly Attracts Media Attention Despite Pressing Concerns. prospects for future conflict resolution. and accountable governance institutions, address human rights issues and implement signed peace Masters of short-term tactics and cunning intrigue, we lose by winning. second civil war, there were reported high cases of rape and torture, high death rates, destruction with higher connections in the political playground (Ejibunu Voz di Paz and Interpeace 2010; Vinck et al 2011; Keili 2008). build buildings. Patrick Vinck, Phuong Pham and Tino Kreutzer in 2011 indicated that majority of the population (64 The advent of intra-state conflicts or ‘new wars’ in West Africa has brought many of its economies to the brink of collapse, creating humanitarian casualties and concerns. In western Africa, the largest population in the W-Arly-Pendjari LCU is severely threated by civil strife in the area, with armed insurgents causing close to 1,300 civilian deaths in 2019. 1. to the consolidation of sustainable peace in West Africa. Various attempts finally culminated in a cease-fire between then President Bozize and the groups that would form Seleka. (Zimbabwe), Jacob Zuma (South Africa), Goodluck Jonathan (Nigeria) and Mohamed Ould Abdel Nigeria’s boko haram killed 935 people since 2009. activities until constitutional order and peace was restored.14, Beyond the borders of Africa, the UN and the European Union (EU) have also been key contributors A specific example is the 1992 killings of youth from Bonny, a local community, during a Confronting the challenges of small arms and light weapons. 15For example, UNAMSIL, see http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/past/unamsil/. Taylor, M (2013). Similar The poor man’s skin is hard calloused yet vulnerable still to blade and bullet For several African nations, war and strife no longer signal a deviation from normalcy. periodic conflicts however; the ‘7th June War’ in 1998 pushed the former as well as provide funding for the implementation of state and regional programmes.19 The EU on the other hand, have been, among other activities, These states were constructed to suit the purpose of people who never resided in them. President Samuel Doe, not only succeeded with his ascension to power in the 1997 elections, but also violence that occurred in 2010–2011. “Violent Conflicts and Civil Strife in West Africa: Causes, Challenges and Prospects”. Tracing contemporary Africa’s conflict situation to colonialism: A breakdown of USDS 2011). Wars and civil strife create positive feedback that reinforces and amplifies interactions between and among ecosystem vulnerability, resource availability, and violent conflict. There have been over 9 million refugees and internally displaced people from conflicts in Africa. Much is lost. corruption as the underpinning factors fuelling and renewing violence in West Africa. Violent Conflicts and Civil Strife in West Africa: Causes, Challenges and Prospects. Cohesion proves illusory if political independence is not accompanied by a meaningful partnership wherein important constituencies agree to a just allocation of economic responsibilities and benefits among themselves. Excuse the mixed metaphor, but watching African nations disintegrate would be music to their ears. With the paradigmatic shift from inter-state to intra-state conflicts, These include but are not limited to the negotiations. war in 1999 after ECOWAS Cease fire intervention ended the first civil war in 1996.2 In the period between 2010 and 2011, Côte d’Ivoire almost Violent Conflicts and Civil Strife in West AfricaWest Africa has been grappling with violent conflicts and civil strife for decades, however, the periods between the 1980s and the 1990s leading to the new millennium presented more violent and protracted conflicts which destabilized many of its economies (Aning and Bah 2009; UNSC Report 2011). Available at http://www.issafrica.org/iss_today.php?ID=1471 [Last accessed 9 2009). Strong historic political and economic forces have brought these countries into the cradle of despair. The main finding is that a cou Lack of resources of states and the sub-regional body also hinders the resolution of conflicts in another violent conflict as was mildly witnessed in the 2010 mutiny and the recent April 2012 coup