January 5 – Libya
A Libyan warplane from forces loyal to the internationally recognized government bomb a Greek oil tanker in the port of Derna chartered by Libya’s national oil company. The incident that killed two crewmen indicates the growing violent chaos in Libya where there are two rival governments and where different militia factions vie for control of territory. Libya’s internationally recognized government is located in Tobruk having been ousted from the capital after the 2014 election. The government appointed by the old parliament is located in the capital, Tripoli. Both governments are backed by various local militias. The city of Benghazi is taken by Islamist fighters, some linked to al-Qaeda. The militia that has taken over one of the main ports, Misrata, is loyal to the Tripoli government. The port of Derna is controlled by Islamic State (IS).

January 15 – Nigeria / Chad
Amnesty International releases satellite images that show near total destruction of two towns, Baga and Doron Baga in northeastern Nigeria, after attacks by Boko Haram militants. According to Amnesty International this is the largest and most destructive attack yet by the militants who shoot hundreds of civilians, almost completely destroy the towns, and drive thousands across the border as refugees. Boko Haram fighters have repeatedly attacked communities looking for perceived collaborators with the security forces. (January 29): Chadian forces drive Boko Haram militants from the town of Malumfatori, one of Nigeria’s most remote towns in the northeast near the borders with Chad and Niger. Boko Haram fighters have been carrying out multiple cross-border attacks on Nigeria’s neighbors.

February 3 – Egypt
Jordan carries out multiple air strikes on Islamic State (IS) targets in Syria after an online video appeared showing captured Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh being burned alive. The focus of the Jordanian bombing is the city of Raqqa, the IS stronghold. The militants claim that during one of these air strikes, an American aid worker, Kayla Mueller, who was held by the IS since 2013, was killed. This claim, however, cannot be confirmed. (February 16): Egypt carries out air bombing on Islamic State targets in Libya after IS released a video showing beheadings of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians who were kidnapped in Libya where they worked. The killings have been widely condemned by the international community. Al-Azhar, the prestigious seat of Islamic learning in Cairo, says that these barbaric killings have nothing to do with any religion or human values. (February 17): Japan says it will contribute additional $15.5 million to fight terrorism in the Middle East following the release of the video by the Islamic State showing two Japanese hostages being beheaded. The money will fund such activities as improving border controls. (February 26): The masked Islamic State militant shown as the leader of the beheadings on the IS videos, is identified as a Kuwaiti-born British citizen Moahmmed Emwazi.

February 11 – Africa
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) says that about 300 African migrants may have perished after leaving the coast of Libya in four boats trying to reach Europe. About 82 survivors are rescued by Italian coastguards and brought to Italy’s Lampedusa Island, located between Tunisia and Malta on the Mediterranean Sea. At least 218,000 people, including migrants and refugees, crossed the Mediterranean by irregular routes last year, but about 3,500 died. In 2014, the European Union adopted the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, with a budget of more than $3 billion for the next seven years, which partially will boost domestic budgets of member states to help improve asylum systems.

February 25 – Benin / Cameroon / Chad / Niger / Nigeria
Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria are joining forces in the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) to tackle the militant group of Boko Haram. The Joint Task Force will have 8,750 multinational troops and support from France. The United States will help by providing communication equipment and intelligence.

March 18 – Tunisia
Three militants with connections to the Islamic State (IS) extremist group storm the Bardo Museum in Tunisia’s capital, Tunis, killing 21 people, mostly foreign tourists. The attack strikes a serious blow to the country’s critical tourism industry. (March 29): Thousands of people show up for a rally against terrorism.

March 20 – Ethiopia / Kenya
Ethiopia’s government officials join the ceremony of burning the country’s entire stock of poached ivory, over 6 tons, in an effort to curb poaching of elephants, black market ivory trading and trafficking. Ethiopia follows Kenya, which destroyed 15 tons of its own ivory stockpiles in March. Also, last month China imposed a one-year ban on importing ivory. Ethiopia has lost 90 percent of its elephant population due to poaching.

March 28 – Nigeria
General Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s former military ruler wins the country’s presidential elections, defeating the incumbent Goodluck Jonathan. Buhari was in power between January 1984 and December 1985 and was deposed in a coup. For the first time in Nigeria’s history, an opposition candidate wins an election, which is seen as a sign of strengthening democracy. Many voters see General Buhari as a better candidate to combat the Boko Haram militants.

April 2 – Kenya / Somalia
Somali al-Shabab Islamic militants storm Garrisa University College in Kenya, killing 148 people (mostly students) and injure dozens more. They single out Christians and spare Muslims. The militants raid Kenya as a revenge for sending troops to Somalia in 2011 to fight them. Kenyans organize mass protests against the militants, but also criticize the Kenyan government for its poor response during the attack and demand better security.

April 17 – Sudan
Sudan reelects President Omar al-Bashir who has been in power since 1989. He wins 94 percent of the vote after main opposition parties boycotted the vote, claiming they had no chance to get fair or free elections. The 71-year old al-Bashir is wanted by the International Court of Justice accused of ordering genocide during the conflict in Darfur.

April 19 – North Africa
About 800 migrants drown after a boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea. The migrants left the coast of Libya and headed towards Italy. According to the International Organization of Migrations (OIM), most of these migrants come from Sub-Saharan Africa, with a small percentage coming from North Africa and Middle East (countries such as Eritrea and Syria). The OIM also estimates that just this year more than 21,000 migrants have reached the Italian coast (with more than 1,700 dying during these journeys), hoping to be resettled in one of the European Union’s countries. With its resources to deal with such overwhelming number of migrants under immense stress, Italy asks the European Union for help.

April 20 – Libya / Ethiopia
The self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) releases a video showing the killings of about 30 Ethiopian Christians. The victims were migrant workers and were captured by IS militants in Libya. Ethiopian government condemns the killings and calls them a crime against humanity. Tens of thousands people in Ethiopia rally against the murder of their fellow citizens.

April 21 – Egypt
Egypt’s former President Mohammed Morsi who was ousted by the military in 2013 is sentenced to 20 years in prison. The court found him guilty of ordering the arrest and torture of protesters against his government during his time in office from 2012 to 2013. Thousands of his supporters were also arrested and the Muslim Brotherhood has been also banned. Morsi says that he was deposed in a military coup and he does not recognize the legitimacy of the court.

May 4 – Burundi
Burundi’s Constitutional Court approves President’s Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision to run for a third term in office. There are reports, however, that judges were intimidated and a few of them fled the country. The decision sparks violent street protests. (May 13): A coup led by General Godefroid Niyombare attempts to depose President Nkurunziza during his trip abroad. (May 14): Government forces restore control and arrest several coup leaders. Street protests continue, with thousands of people fleeing the country.

May 5 – Senegal
Senegal joins the Saudi Arabian-led coalition, committing 2,100 troops to its military intervention in Yemen that aims to restore President Mansour Hadi. Senegal will be the only non-Arab member in the coalition. However, the country is a majority Sunni Muslim state and a traditional ally of Saudi Arabia. Senegalese soldiers have a reputation of being among the best trained in Africa.

June 10 – Africa
Twenty-six African countries sign an agreement in Egypt to form the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA). This free trade zone will stretch from Cape Town in South Africa to Cairo in Egypt. The agreement works by uniting three existing trade blocks: the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Southern African Development Community (SADC) and East African Community (EAC). The objective of the agreement is to make intra-African easier and to boost it to 30 percent, which currently accounts to only 13 percent. By comparison, 70 percent of Europe’s trade is between European countries. The agreement still has to be ratified by the member states’ national parliaments.

July 1 – Egypt
Self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) launches a wave of raids on military checkpoints and a police station in the north part of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, killing at least 100 people. (July 2): Egypt responds with air strikes on several IS locations, forcing them to withdraw from north Sinai.

August 4 – Sudan
Amnesty International accuses Sudan’s government forces of committing war crimes in its southern region of South Kordofan, where they have been fighting rebels who have been demanding more rights for their region since 2011. Amnesty finds that the Sudanese armed forces have been deliberately targeting civilian population, schools, hospitals, and relief groups in South Kordofan. It has also used cluster munition and other prohibited weapons. The conflict has claimed hundreds of lives and caused a humanitarian crisis.

August 26 – South Sudan
South Sudan’s president, Salva Kiir, reluctantly signs an internationally-mediated peace agreement to end the country’s civil war. The fighting began in December 2013, when President Kiir dismissed Vice President Riek Machar, accusing him of plotting a coup. Since then forces loyal to the president clashed with forces loyal to former vice president and rebel leader Riek Machar. The conflict displaced over 2 million people. According to the deal, fighting is supposed to stop immediately, Riek Machar will return to the post of first vice president, a transitional government of national unity will govern for 30 months with elections held 60 days before the end of its mandate, and the Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing will investigate human rights violations.

September 17 – Mozambique
The government of Mozambique announces that after 22 years of work the country is now mine-free. With the help of the HALO Trust, the humanitarian landmine clearance organization, 171,000 landmines have been removed from over 1,100 minefields that were the legacy of Mozambique’s 15-year civil war. The war began in 1977, two years after the end of the war of independence, and ended in 1992, but mines continued to kill and injure hundreds of civilians each year after the war. The demining has cleared over 183 million square feet of land that now can be used for agriculture and infrastructure development.

September 21 – Ethiopia
Ethiopia launches its first modern fully electrified commuter train in its capital, Addis Ababa, which is also first in sub-Saharan Africa. The project has cost $470 million and was funded mostly by China.

November 17 – Tunisia
In a counter-terrorism operation, the Tunisian authorities arrest a dozen suspected Islamists who, they say, plotted another terrorist attack in the country. The authorities say the arrested have trained in terrorist camps in Syria and Iraq. Tunisia estimates that around 3,000 of its citizens are part of Islamic militant groups in Syria and Iraq.

November 20 – Mali
Two gunmen attack the luxury Radisson Blu hotel in Mali’s capital, Bamako, killing 22 people (including foreign guests) and taking the staff and guests as hostages. Special forces storm the hotel freeing the hostages and killing both militants. Three different Islamist militant groups claim responsibility for the attack: al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, al-Murabitoun, and the Macina Liberation Front (MLF), which operates in central and southern Mali.

December 4 – Africa
Speaking at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in South Africa, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledges $60 billion for development aid for African countries. The money will fund infrastructure projects, help drought-stricken countries, upgrade African health care facilities, train journalists, and provide scholarships for African students. The pledged amount will be disbursed over the next three years.

December 18 – Burundi / African Union
The African Union (AU) approves a plan to deploy 5,000 peacekeeping troops in Burundi to protect civilians amid escalating unrest between the government and rebel forces. The violence started after President Pierre Nkurunziza announced he would run for a third term in office and escalated after his win in the controversial election. The AU charter allows the organization to deploy troops even without a country’s consent in the case of circumstances such as war crimes or genocide.

December 27 – Nigeria
Boko Haram militants raid a village near Maiduguri in northeastern Nigeria, shooting indiscriminately and killing 21 people and injuring dozens. The attack comes a week after the country’s President Muhammadu Buhari announced that the fight against the group had been concluded. In March 2015, Boko Haram pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) and changed its name to the Islamic State West Africa Province.