Events from the decade 2010s in Africa.

International events in Africa

History by country

Algeria The 2010–2012 Algerian protests were a series of protests taking place throughout Algeria, lasting from 28 December 2010 to early 2012. The protests had been inspired by similar protests across the Middle East and North Africa. Causes cited by the protesters included unemployment, the lack of housing, food-price inflation, corruption, restrictions on freedom of speech and poor living conditions.

The 2019–2021 Algerian protests, also called Revolution of Smiles, began on 16 February 2019, six days after Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced his candidacy for a fifth presidential term in a signed statement. The protests were peaceful and led the military to insist on Bouteflika's immediate resignation, which took place on 2 April 2019. By early May, a significant number of power-brokers close to the deposed administration, including the former president's younger brother Saïd, had been arrested.

The 2019 Algerian presidential election was held in Algeria on 12 December 2019. After Bouteflika resigned on 2 April, Abdelkader Bensalah was elected acting president by parliament a week later.Abdelkader Bensalah named Algeria's interim president France24, 9 April 2019 On 10 April the election was rescheduled for 4 July. On 2 June the Constitutional Council postponed the elections again, citing a lack of candidates. In a strong protest on 1 November, Algerian protestors rejected the 12 December election and called for a radical change in the system to take place first. The Forces of the Democratic Alternative (FDA) alliance and the Justice and Development Front also called for boycotting the 12 December election, and the FDA called for creating a constituent assembly.

Angola On 21 January 2010 the National Assembly of Angola approved a new constitution to replace the interim constitution that had been in effect since independence in 1975. The Assembly approved this constitution in its entirety, by a 186–0 vote. Two assembly members abstained. The vote in the national assembly was boycotted by the opposition (UNITA) party, which claimed that the constitutional process had been flawed and undermined democracy.

Burkina Faso On 15 February 2011, soldiers mutinied in the capital Ouagadougou over unpaid housing allowances; President Blaise Compaoré briefly fled the capital and sought safety in his hometown of Ziniaré. By Sunday 17 April, the mutiny had spread to the town of Pô in southern Burkina Faso; there were also protests over a court's decision to sentence several officers to prison sentences. The mutiny followed popular protests over rising prices in several cities across Burkina Faso, and protests starting 22 February over the death of a student in police custody in February, as well as the shooting of several other protesters. Five student protesters were reportedly killed in February.

The 2014 Burkinabé uprising was a series of demonstrations and riots in Burkina Faso in October 2014 that quickly spread to multiple cities. They began in response to attempts at changing the constitution to allow President Blaise Compaoré to run again and extend his 27 years in office. Pressure for political change came from civil society and in particular from the country's youth. Following a tumultuous day on 30 October, which included the involvement of former Defence Minister Kouamé Lougué and the burning of the National Assembly and other government buildings as well as the ruling Congress for Democracy and Progress party's headquarters, Compaoré dissolved the government and declared a state of emergency before eventually fleeing to Côte d'Ivoire with the support of President Alassane Ouattara.

The 2015 Burkinabé coup d'état was launched on 16 September 2015 in Burkina Faso, when members of the Regiment of Presidential Security (RSP) – a controversial autonomous military unit, formed under President Blaise Compaoré – detained the country's government. Among those detained were the transitional President Michel Kafando, Prime Minister Yacouba Isaac Zida (who was also the former deputy commander of the RSP), and numerous members of the cabinet. This transitional government was formed in the wake of the 2014 uprising. However, the junta failed to consolidate its authority across the country, and faced protests as well as intense pressure from regional leaders, and eventually from the regular army, to restore the transitional government. Ultimately, after the regular army entered Ouagadougou to confront the RSP, Kafando was restored as president on 23 September 2015.

The 2016 Burkinabé coup d'état attempt was an attempt to overthrow the government of Burkina Faso on 8 October 2016. At least 30 ex-members of the elite presidential guard (known as the RSP) planned an attack on three locations: the presidential residence, an Army barracks, and a prison in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. Two people were killed and at least ten other people have been arrested in connection with the attempt.

Burundi Presidential elections were held in Burundi on June 28, 2010. As a result of withdrawals and alleged fraud and intimidation, incumbent President Pierre Nkurunziza was the only candidate. In early March 2010, the run-up to the election was described as "explosive" due to a combination of demobilized former combatants and violence between youth activists in the ruling CNDD-FDD and opposition FRODEBU.Tensions High in Run-Up to Elections IRIN, March 4, 2010 On June 1, 2010, five opposition candidates, including Agathon Rwasa, who was considered the strongest contender, withdrew from the elections, alleging that the government intended to rig it. Parliamentary elections were held in Burundi on July 23, 2010. The opposition parties boycotted the election after also boycotting the presidential election.

On April 25, 2015, the incumbent President of Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza, announced he would run for a third term in the 2015 presidential election. The announcement sparked protests by those opposed to Nkurunziza seeking a third term in office.Burundi: Crackdown on Protesters Human Rights Watch, April 27, 2015 Widespread demonstrations in the then-capital, Bujumbura, lasted for over three weeks. As a result of the protests, the government also shut down the country's Internet and telephone network, closed all of the country's universities, and publicly referred to the protesters as "terrorists". Tens of thousands of people fled the country, hundreds of people were arrested, and several protesters and police were killed.

On May 13, 2015, a coup d'état was attempted, led by Major General Godefroid Niyombare, while President Nkurunziza was in Tanzania attending an emergency conference about the situation in the country. By the next day the coup collapsed and government forces reasserted control. At least 240 people were killed over the next few months, and on December 11, 87 people were killed in attacks on state targets. Violence continued through 2017.Three killed in Burundi grenade attacks at bars Al Jazeera, August 18, 2017

Cameroon

The 2016–17 Cameroonian protests began on October 6, 2016, as a sit-down strike initiated by the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium (CACSC), an organization consisting of lawyer and teacher trade unions from the Anglophone regions of Cameroon. The strike was led by Barrister Agbor Balla, Fontem Neba, and Tassang Wilfred. Within two weeks, more than 100 activists had reportedly been arrested. Six were reported dead. Unconfirmed videos released over social media depicted a variety of violent scenes, including demonstrators "parading the dead body of an activist, barricades set ablaze, [and] police brutally beating protesters and firing tear gas against the crowds".

In September 2017, separatists in the Anglophone territories of Northwest Region and Southwest Region (collectively known as Southern Cameroons) declared the independence of Ambazonia and began fighting against the Government of Cameroon.. Starting as a low-scale insurgency, the conflict spread to most parts of the Anglophone regions within a year.Picking a Fight: The Rise of Armed Separatists in Cameroon, ACLED. Accessed November 17, 2018. By the summer of 2019, the government controlled the major cities and parts of the countryside, while the separatists held parts of the countryside and regularly appeared in the major cities.Cameroon’s Anglophone Crisis: How to Get to Talks?, Crisis Group, May 2, 2019. Accessed May 2, 2019. The war has killed approximately 3,000 peopleCameroon’s Anglophone Dialogue: A Work in Progress, CrisisGroup, September 26, 2019. Accessed October 28, 2019. and forced more than half a million people to flee their homes. Although 2019 saw the first known instance of dialogue between Cameroon and the separatists,Cameroon: Ambazonia leaders endorse Swiss-led dialogue to solve Anglophone crisis, Journal du Cameroun, June 28, 2019. Accessed June 28, 2019. as well as a state-organized national dialogue and the granting of a special status to the Anglophone regions,Cameroon grants special status to Anglophone regions, Reuters, December 20, 2019. Accessed December 22, 2019. the war continued to intensify in late 2019.Cameroon's Separatists Intensify Attacks to Protest Dialogue, Voice of America, September 24, 2019. Accessed September 26, 2019. Internal divisions among the separatists since the 2019 Ambazonian leadership crisis has complicated the situation.Cameroon holds first peace talks with main separatist insurgents, Reuters, July 4, 2020. Accessed July 4, 2020.

Central African Republic In the Central African Republic Bush War (2004–2007), the government of President François Bozizé fought with rebels until a peace agreement in 2007. The Central African Republic Civil War arose when a new coalition of varied rebel groups, known as Séléka, accused the government of failing to abide by the peace agreementsUppsala Conflict Data Program Conflict Encyclopedia, Central African Republic, In depth: The Seleka Rebellion, viewed May 16, 2013, http://www.ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=31&regionSelect=2-Southern_Africa# and captured many towns at the end of 2012. The capital was seized by the rebels in March 2013,Zuma joins regional leaders over crisis in Central African Republic, BDay Live, by Nicholas Kotch, April 19, 2013, 07:50, http://www.bdlive.co.za/africa/africannews/2013/04/19/zuma-joins-regional-leaders-over-crisis-in-central-african-republic Bozizé fled the country, and the rebel leader Michel Djotodia declared himself president. Renewed fighting began between Séléka and militias called anti-balaka. In September 2013, President Djotodia disbanded the Séléka coalition, which had lost its unity after taking power, and in January 2014, Djotodia resigned. He was replaced by Catherine Samba-Panza, but the conflict continued. In July 2014, ex-Séléka factions and anti-balaka representatives signed a ceasefire agreement in Brazzaville."RCA: signature d’un accord de cessez-le-feu à Brazzaville ". VOA. July 24, 2014. Retrieved July 28, 2014. By the end of 2014, the country was de facto partitioned with the anti-Balaka controlling the south and west, from which most Muslims had evacuated, and ex-Seleka groups controlling the north and east.