January 8: Sudan
The United Nations warns about the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Sudan’s two southern provinces of South Kordofan and Blue Nile, where the government has been fighting the rebels. An estimated 700,000 people in the region have been affected as a result of months of clashes. The Sudanese government accuses South Sudan of fueling the unrest.
January 8: Sudan
The United Nations warns about the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Sudan’s two southern provinces of South Kordofan and Blue Nile, where the government has been fighting the rebels. An estimated 700,000 people in the region have been affected as a result of months of clashes. The Sudanese government accuses South Sudan of fueling the unrest.
January 8: Kenya
Kenya’s authorities report that a poaching gang has killed a family of 11 elephants for ivory, making it one of the worst single incidents of poaching in the country. Although trade in ivory was banned in Kenya in 1989, illegal hunting has been on the rise to meet growing demand for ivory from elephants and rhino horns especially in Asia.
January 11: Central African Republic
The government of the Central African Republic (CAR) and the Seleka rebels who took control of northern and eastern part of the country sign a ceasefire agreement during unity talks in Gabon. According to the deal, the National Assembly will be dissolved, the legislative election will be held in 12 months, President Francois Bozize will be allowed to complete his term till 2016, and a prime minister, who will act as the head of the government, will be appointed from among the rebels. South Africa has sent 400 peacekeeping troops to CAR. Bozize took power in a coup in 2003.
January 16: Algeria
Islamist militants attack a gas plant with hundreds of workers (including many foreign nationals) in a remote complex in the Sahara desert in Algeria, taking dozens of hostages. The attackers, who entered Algeria from northern Mali, say they plan to blow up the plant in retaliation for France’s intervention in Mali. They execute a number of hostages. (January 19): The Algerian government says it does not negotiate with terrorists and sends special forces to storm the site. The four-day siege ends with deaths of 39 hostages and 29 kidnappers. Among the killed are three US citizens.
January 28: Egypt
Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi declares a state of emergency in Port Said, Suez and Ismalia as a result of several days of violent anti-government protests, which left more than 50 people dead. President Morsi invites the opposition for national unity talks, but the opposition declines, saying he would have to first appoint a national unity government and promise to amend the controversial constitution, which does not represent all Egyptians. (January 29): Egyptian General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi warns that recent discord is pushing the country to the brink of collapse.
February 6: Tunisia
A prominent Tunisian secular opposition leader Chokri Belaid is assassinated in front of his home in the country’s capital, Tunis, the event that sparks mass protests. The ruling Ennahda party is blamed for the killing. (February 19): Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali resigns after his Ennahda party rejects his proposal to form a government.
March 6: Sudan/South Sudan
Sudan and South Sudan agree to resume the production of oil and its transfer across their border after a year of disputes. South Sudan owes three quarters of the oil production, but it needs Sudan’s pipelines to transport it. The dispute was about how much payment Sudan should get for South Sudan’s usage of its pipelines and territory.
March 9: Kenya
Kenyan Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, the son of Kenya’s first president, wins the election for president, defeating Prime Minister Raila Odinga by a slim margin. Odinga challenges the result, but the country’s Supreme Court upholds it after a partial recount. Kenyatta and his running mate William Ruto are wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague for the 2007 election violence.
March 24: Central African Republic
The Seleka rebel coalition in the Central African Republic (CAR) breaks the January ceasefire agreement and captures the capital, Bangui, forcing President Francois Bozize out of the country. South African peacekeepers fail to stop the rebels. Rebel leader Michel Djotodia declares himself president and promises elections in 2016.
April 15: Chad/Mali
Chad is withdrawing its troops from Mali, saying it does not want to get involved in a guerilla-type of war with the Mali Islamic insurgents. The troops from Chad, France and other African countries regained Mali’s northern territory from the rebels, but the insurgents that withdrew into the Sahara Desert continue attacks. Chad, however, offers to contribute 11,000 troops for the United Nations peacekeeping force in Mali. (April 25): The United Nations approves a 12,600-strong UN peacekeeping force MINUSMA for Mali.
May 15: Nigeria
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan declares a state of emergency in three northern states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe and sends troops there after new deadly attacks by Islamist militant groups. Since 2010, more than 2,000 have been killed in violence brought by Boko Haram militants who want to create an Islamic state in northern part of Nigeria.
June 8: Libya
Several hundreds of Libyans gather in the city of Benghazi to protest outside the militia headquarters demanding it disband. The Libya Shield Brigade was part of the resistance to the Muammar Gaddafi’s rule, but since his demise in 2011, it has refused to lay down its weapons. (June 25): Libya’s interim parliament, the General National Congress, elects an independent member of parliament Nouri Abusahmen as its president. Abusahmen is an ethnic Berber, which is significant as the ethnic Berbers suffered discrimination under the Gaddafi’s rule. He is the first Berber to hold such high office.
June 18: Mali
Mali’s government and Tuareg nationalist rebels sign a peace agreement that introduces a ceasefire and returns the northern town of Kidal into the hands of the government. It also paves the way for a presidential election scheduled for July 2013. The rebels, who fought for independence from Mali also say they will accept autonomy. The United Nations is planning on deploying 12,600 peacekeepers into the region.
July 1: Mali
The United Nations takes control over the peacekeepers in Mali under the command of Major General Jean Bosco Kazura from Rwanda. By December, the force that goes by the acronym of Minusma will reach the strength of 12,640 soldiers. France plans to keep 1,000 of its soldiers in Mali.
July 1: Egypt
In response to four days of anti-government mass street demonstrations, Egypt’s military gives President Mohammed Morsi an ultimatum threatening to remove him from office if he does not reach an agreement with the opposition. Six ministers from the Morsi cabinet resign, putting more pressure on him. (July 3): The head of the armed forces, General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, announces that the military has deposed and detained Morsi and suspended the country’s constitution. The Chief Justice Adly Mansour is put in charge of the transitional government until new elections. The military also detains top leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood. Hundreds of thousands of both Morsi’s Islamic supporters and opposition protesters take to the streets. (July 16): A new interim government is sworn in, with Adly Mansour as an interim president, Hazem al-Beblawi as prime minister, and army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as deputy prime minister and defense minister. The Muslim Brotherhood refuses to recognize the new administration. (July 21): President Mansour appoints a panel to amend Egypt’s constitution. Daily pro-Morsi demonstrations continue. (July 27): Security forces clash with the protesters, killing about 100 people and injuring more than 1,500.
August 1: Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe wins a presidential election and a seventh term in office. Also his Zanu-PF party wins three quarters of the seats in parliament. The opposition leader and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai says the elections were fraudulent, and announces that his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which was in a coalition with Mugabe, will no longer support the Zanu-PF party. Mugabe vows to continue his policy of indigenization, forcing companies to cede control of businesses to black Zimbabweans.
August 7: Egypt
International mediators that included the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates fail to resolve the political crisis in Egypt after the removal of President Mohammed Morsi. (August 14): Egyptian security forces kill hundreds of pro-Morsi protesters after storming two protest camps in Cairo. The Muslim Brotherhood claims the death toll exceeded 2,000 people. The interim government declares a state of emergency and imposes a curfew. Vice President Mohammed ElBaradei resigns from the interim government due to the recent violence. (August 16): Churches, businesses, schools, and homes of Egypt’s Christian citizens, who constitute about 10 percent of the country’s population, are being targeted in anti-Christian attacks. The Coptic Christians are accused of supporting the removal of President Morsi. (August 20): Egyptian government arrests the most senior leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Badie, along with hundreds of other members of the party.
August 13: Mali
Mali’s former Prime Minister, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, wins the recent presidential election. He has promised to unify the country, open peace talks with the Tuareg separatists, and rebuild the country after a year and a half of chaos.
September 11: Kenya
Kenya discovers two huge aquifers in its drought-stricken region of Turkana. These new water sources bring hope for development of this driest and poorest region of Kenya by supplying drinking water to its population, as well as water for industry and irrigation.
September 21: Kenya
Somali al-Shabab militants attack a shopping mall in Kenya’s capital of Nairobi, killing more than 60 people and terrorizing many others. The militants demand that Kenya withdraws its troops from Somalia.
October 5: Libya
The United States Army Delta commandos apprehend one of the most wanted al-Qaeda leaders, Abu Anas al-Liby, in a special counter-terrorism operation in Libya. Al-Liby is suspected of being a mastermind behind bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.
October 6: Egypt
More than 50 people are killed in Egypt in clashes between the police and supporters of deposed President Mohammed Morsi. Also, several hundreds demonstrators are arrested. Since Morsi’s removal from office in July, hundreds of his supporters have been killed. He and other Muslim Brotherhood activists have been arrested, awaiting trial. (October 9): In response to the violence in Egypt, the United States announces a temporary freeze of a big part of its $1.3 billion aid to Egyptian government until new free elections are planned.
November 26: Central African Republic
United Nations Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson warns about the quickly deteriorating situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) since rebels seized power in March, and calls for more peacekeeping troops. As a result of violence between armed gangs of the Muslim minority, now in power, and Christian majority, scores of people have been killed and about half a million have been displaced. Currently there are about 2,500 African peacekeepers in CAR. France is also planning to send a force of about 1,000 soldiers.
December 5: South Africa
South Africa’s former president, Nelson Mandela, dies at the age of 95. Before becoming the country’s first black president in 1994, Mandela spent 27 years in prison for his anti-apartheid revolutionary activities. He was also a recipient of the Peace Nobel Prize in 1993. He is respected for his policy of reconciliation despite his long imprisonment.