January 22 — Nigeria
The Nigerian army takes control over the city of Jos after a week of violent clashes between Christians and Muslims. Jos is situated in the middle of the country between the mainly Muslim north and the mainly Christian south. As a result of the clashes about 265 people were killed, thousands fled their homes, and houses, churches and mosques were burnt. Similar violent riots between Muslims and Christians with high casualties took place in 2001 and 2008. The two groups come from different ethnic groups, are divided along the party lines, and compete for resources.
February 10 — Chad/Sudan
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and Chadian President Idriss Deby agree to normalize relations between the two countries, bringing hope that this will end the conflict in Darfur. President Deby calls on Chad’s rebels operating inside Sudan to disarm.
February 23 — Sudan
Sudanese government signs a ceasefire agreement with the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), one of the main rebel groups in Darfur. The deal, brokered by Chad, is seen as a major step towards peace in the war-torn region of Darfur. The agreement includes sharing power with the government.
March 7 — Nigeria
One-hundred nine people, mostly Christians, are killed during an outbreak of communal violence between Christians and Muslims in several villages near the central Nigerian city of Jos. The attacks are in reprisal for the similar clashes in January. Nigerian police arrests 200 people and charges 49 with murder. The suspects are mostly Muslims from the Fulani ethnic group.
April 15 — Sudan
Sudan completes five days of presidential and parliamentary elections, the first multi-party poll in 24 years. President Omar al-Bashir is declared the winner and reelected for the second term, although the international election observers claim irregularities and vote rigging. The semi-autonomous south reelects Salva Kiir as its leader from the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), which controls the region.
June 7 — Sudan
According to the African Union—United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), about 600 people died in violence in Sudan’s region of Darfur in May, a record number in just one month. Most of the victims died in fighting between the government forces and rebels from the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). Since the beginning of the conflict in Darfur in 2003, about 300,000 people have been killed and 2.6 million displaced.
July 11 — Uganda
Two bombs explode in a restaurant in the Ugandan capital of Kampala, killing 74 people. The country’s authorities believe that Ugandan rebel group, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which is linked to al-Qaeda, with the help of Somali Islamist group Al-Shabab carried out the bombing. They also believe that the attack was in retaliation for Uganda’s military involvement in Somalia.
July 12 — Sudan
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issues a second arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on charges of genocide in the region of Darfur. He has been already charged for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
August 5 — Kenya
The Kenyan voters approve a new constitution in a referendum, which is hailed as the most important political step in independent Kenya. The reformed constitution decentralizes political system by limiting presidential powers and replacing corrupt provincial governments with local counties. It also creates the second parliamentary chamber, the senate, introduces the bill of rights, and provides for land reform by stating that land acquired illegally can be reclaimed. It is hoped that the reform will end the tribal disagreements that brought the violence after the 2007 general election, when more than 1,000 people were killed.
August 10 — Rwanda
Rwandan President Paul Kagame wins a second term in the presidential election. His supporters say that under his watch the country achieved stability and economic growth. His critics, however, accuse him of suppressing opposition. He won the election with over 90 percent of the vote.
October 31 — Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast goes to the polls to vote in the presidential election that has been postponed six times. Neither incumbent Lauren Gbagbo nor his main rival former Prime Minister and former IMF economist Alassane Ouattara win an outright majority, forcing the candidates into a run-off election. This is the country’s first presidential election in 10 years.
November 22 — Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
The International Criminal Court at The Hague (ICC) opens a case against former leader of a rebel Movement of Liberation of Congo (MLC) in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and former DRC’s vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba, who is accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes. The rebel MLC, which was under his authority, is accused of rape and killing of hundreds of civilians in Central African Republic between 2002 and 2003.
November 28 — Egypt
Egyptians vote in parliamentary polls. The main opposition to the President Hosni Mubarak’s governing National Democratic Party (NDP) is the officially banned Muslim Brotherhood (MB), whose members run as independents. The National Association for Change (NAC) led by Mohamed ElBardei, the former leader of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), boycotts the election. According to official reports, almost all seats go to the NDP, and the MB does not win a single seat despite the fact that it holds 88 of them in the current parliament, about a fifth of all seats. The opposition alleges widespread fraud and organizes protests across the country.
December 2 — Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast’s electoral commission announces that opposition candidate Alassane Ouattara has won the presidential run-off election. (December 3): The country’s Constitutional Council overturns the previous poll results and declares incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo the election winner. The Council is staffed with the president’s supporters. The international community endorses Ouattara and calls for Gbagbo to accept the defeat. (December 4): Both candidates take oaths as new heads of state and the dispute escalates into violence between supporters of the two opposing camps. (December 23): The post-election clashes have claimed 173 lives so far. The West African regional organization ECOWAS warns it will take military action if Laurent Gbagbo does not step down.
December 5 — Egypt
As a result of the second run of parliamentary elections in Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak’s governing National Democratic Party wins 83 percent of the parliamentary seats, with the opposition parties and rights groups alleging widespread fraud. The two main opposition groups, the Muslim Brotherhood and Wafd parties, boycott the elections. The Muslim Brotherhood, which holds 20 percent of the seats in the current parliament, will end up with no representation at all in the new one. The critics say that the election turns Egypt into a one-party system.