Throughout history, African nations have unfortunately recorded catalogs of wars more than any other continent in the world. From the second Congo war to the Rwandan genocide that claimed an estimated 800000 lives in just 100 days, Africa has witnessed a series of wars that have shaped its past and continue to influence its present.
Some of these wars led to the birth of new nations while others brought liberatio. Even though many centuries have passed since these major wars and stories of these horrors have been told from one generation to another, conflict still remains Africa’s biggest challenge.
Here are the 10 Deadliest African Wars
1. The Second Congo War
Also called the Great War of Africa the second Congo War officially began in 1998 about 15 months after the first Congo war ended. What started as a dispute between then-President Laurent Kabila and countries like Angola, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi which enabled him to overthrow the former president Mobutu Sese Seko turned out to be a disaster that lasted until 2003.
History reveals that President Kabila ended his relationship with his allies upon his victory and dismissed them from their official duties. Some of them who had settled in Congo were asked to leave the country. Consequently, this escalated into a civil war between the armies of 5 countries such as Zimbabwe, Namibia, Angola, Chad, and Sudan who were for Kabila, and 4 troops from Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi who were against him.
This recorded the massive destruction of lives and properties, it also saw mass rapes and the extraction of natural resources from the Republic of Congo. For the worst, at least 3 million people were killed consisting of mostly civilians. This became the highest war death rate after World War II. Some of these deaths were also linked to disease and malnutrition from the war.
2. Rwanda Genocide
This remains the only genocide recorded in the history of Africa. The two main force of the fight was the major ethnic group of Rwanda – Hutus and the minor ethnic group – Tutsis.
The deliberate attack by the Hutu escalated after the death of the Hutu president Habyarimana whose plane was shot down by suspected Tutsis’. However, this was denied by the latter who claimed that the Hutu extremist killed their president in order to launch their long-planned attack against them.
Without further investigations, the Hutus began a 100-day open genocide which resulted in the death of 80000 people that were mostly of the Titus community. It is stated this period saw neighbors fight against neighbors and couples against each other until the intervention of the Rwanda Patriotic Front and Uganda army who visited Kigali – the capital city of Rwanda and defeated the Hutus.
3. The Somali Civil War
This became one of the deadliest wars in Africa as it even stood against the efforts made by the United States. The war sparked after the removal of Mohammed Siad Barre from his presidential rule over the Somali Democratic Republic.
Consequently, the country was divided into two opposing parties who were both fighting for power and authority. On one hand, was the Somali National Movement in the North, and on the other was the United Somali Congress in the South.
Following the frustration to control of both parties, the United Nations and the United States intervened with military efforts and humanitarian aid albeit, they withdrew in 1994 as both parties were not willing to surrender or retreat.
The conflict between the parties saw the deaths of over 3 million civilians and at least a million displaced people.
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4. Nigerian Civil War
Many Nigerians may not recall the heat of 1967 however, the Igbo of the southern part of Nigeria would never forget a time like that and have passed the waves of this conflict from one generation to another.
From the story, the Igbo people formed an independent state called Biafran as they feared that the oppressive military government of Nigeria would deprive them of development. The group was officially declared independent in 1967 by its leader Officer Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu.
As expected, this was perceived as an act of treason by the Federal Military Government of Nigeria which deployed several means of keeping them under control but things went south as war broke out between the Nigerian military and Biafra forces.
A few months into the war, Biafrans were outnumbered and lost their capital city Enugu. In 1968, they lost their oil-generating revenues in Port Harcourt.
More than the bullets and bombs from the Nigerian Militaries, hunger spread like wildfire and killed over a million Biafrans.
Nonetheless, they continued to send out armies from their hideouts until their second capital state Owerri was defeated leading to the escape of their leader Ojukwu to the Ivory Coast in 1970 as well as their surrender 4 days later.
5. The Second Sudanese War
In the history of Africa, the Second Sudanese War remains the longest civil war to be recorded spanning over 2 decades from 1983 to 2005. It is thought to be the continuation of the first Sudanese Civil War which started in 1955 and saw its end in 1972.
However, with the start of the second war between the Sudanese Government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, it’s obvious that the first war never ended.
Following the war, the lives of about 2 million people were claimed and some deaths were linked to starvation and disease. Millions of people were left displaced and over 500 fled to neighboring countries to find refuge.
Though the war left many Sudanese in pain, it also gave birth to hope when South Sudan gained her independence six years later.
6. Eritrean-Ethiopian Border War
This war is also known as the Badme War. The violent conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea started on May 6, 1998, following disputes over the border town known as Badme. The neighboring countries fought for this course for about two years which saw over 80 thousand people lose their lives and the displacement of communities.
Two years later in 2000, they signed a peace agreement and established a border commission to resolve the issue. However, this only lasted for a few months before conflict sparked again and sustained for two decades.
7. Mozambique Civil War
The civil war between the ruling Mozambique government and the Mozambique Resistance Movement (RENAMO) began in 1977 two years after Mozambique gained her independence from Portugal.
The rebel group was reportedly founded and financed by foreign nations such as Rhodesia and South Africa and was aimed at establishing a socialist one-party state against the opinions of the Mozambique government.
The fierceness of the war was the death of about 1 million people and 500 others from starvation in their hideouts. From the records, at least 5 million civilians were left displaced as their economy was decimated.
The Mozambique war ended in 1992 and two years later, the country held its first multiparty election with RENAMO as a political party.
8. The Sierra Leone Civil War
From 1991 until 2002, the government of Sierra Leone recorded an intense battle with the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) which was greatly supported by special forces of Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia.
The war was an attempt to overthrow the Joseph Momoh government and control the diamond mines which reportedly crippled the economy and triggered the war.
This war lasted for 11 years until the British government military intervened and suppressed the rebel group. Prior to this, the lives of over 300 thousand people were claimed and over a million people were displaced.
9. The Lord’s Resistance Army Insurgence
This war was led by one of history’s brutal warlords Joseph Kony. He was also the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army which waged war against the people of northern Uganda and neighboring countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Central African Republic (CAR), and Southern Sudan.
The rebel group was first initiated against Yoweri Museveni’s government after he seized power from the northern president Tito Okello in 1986. The group soon went to become a threat to humanity and the entire nation of Uganda. The group was driven by their aim of establishing a new government based on the Ten Commandments.
The violence created by the group resulted in millions of deaths and displacements of about 2 million people. It’s recorded that they also forced young children to serve in armies and others as sex slaves.
Despite efforts made by the Uganda government to end the hostilities through peace talks and even enforcement of military powers, they are still been terrorized by the group.
10. Central African Republic War
Since 2012, waves of conflicts between the Central African Republic and the Seleka rebel group have been recurring leading to massive deaths and destruction. To a large extent, many have fled to neighboring countries while others have been left displaced with no access to food and health care units. According to reports, water sources such as dams and rivers have been contaminated by dead bodies and are not usable.
The war started after the ruling government was accused by the rebels of not upholding peace agreements and forcibly seized power from then-president Francois Bozize.
