IRREGULAR WARFARE IN AFRICAN CONFLICTS

Abstract

Irregular wars have erupted in African states since colonial independence from Western European countries in the 1960s. The end of the Cold War in 1989 and the changing nature of international politics did not bring about political stability in African states either. These intrastate wars were by-products of historic disputes kept hidden during the Cold War. When the ideological confrontation ended, they surfaced again. Intrastate wars and irregular warfare are not new phenomena on the African continent and led to the collapse of state institutions in countries such as Liberia, Somalia, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda, Sudan and Burundi. Rather than addressing African animosities, conflict continues unabated.