Displacement of civilians caused by intermittent clashes between Senegalese government forces and rebels of the separatist Mouvement des forces démocratiques de Casamance (MFDC) continued to be reported in 2002 and 2003. Due to the fact that the southern Casamance province is virtually cut off from the rest of the country by the Gambia, most people fleeing the violence have sought refuge in neighbouring Gambia and Guinea–Bissau. But at the end of 2002, an estimated 5,000 people remained internally displaced, according to the US Committee for Refugees. Both parties to the conflict have been guilty of human rights abuses against civilians, including extrajudicial executions, "disappearances", torture and forced displacement.

Malawi's High Court on Wednesday effectively ruled the country's main opposition leader out of the running for next year's presidential elections. The ruling threatened to end John Tembo's long political career, deprive the Malawi Congress Party of a high-profile leader and undermine its chances in the polls scheduled for May 2004.

In Zimbabwe, 1.5 million voters will go to the polls at the weekend in urban council elections. Over 1300 seats are at stake. Zimbabwe's main opposition party, the MDC or Movement for Democratic Change, has decided to take part in the elections despite ample evidence of state-sponsored violence, harassment and padding of the voter rolls. The poll is taking place in a climate of fear, widespread hunger, and economic collapse.

Washington's removal of U.S. marines from Monrovia to ships offshore will hurt the recovery of war-weary Liberia in both real and symbolic ways, say humanitarian and political experts. Earlier this week, 150 soldiers in a rapid reaction force that had been patrolling Monrovia since Aug. 14 climbed into their helicopters and flew to three ships stationed nearby, leaving about 100 troops behind to guard the U.S. embassy and work with West African peacekeepers. Since the marines' departure, reports have emerged of battles between government and rebel forces.

The Sudan peace talks have been deferred to September 10 to give delegates time to consult on power sharing and security. The meeting chairman, Mr Lazarus Sumbeiywo, said most of the delegates did not have the mandate to decide on some of the issues raised and needed further consultation. "The delegates agreed this morning that we adjourn the talks for some time to give them time to consult with their people. Some of the delegates do not have the mandate to make decisions," he said.

“The departure of Charles Taylor from power and from Liberia constitutes a significant but incomplete step forward for West Africa in establishing a just and stable peace. We call on the international community to ensure that Taylor stands before the Special Court for Sierra Leone to face the serious charges against him. There can be no true peace while he remains at large.”

The death of Kenya's Vice President Michael Kijana Wamalwa at a London hospital last week is a double-edged sword for the seven-month National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) government that has been grappling with serious cracks within its ranks since last December's elections. For one, the death of the second in command – being the first vice-president to die in office in Kenya's independence history – will in effect force a temporary lull in the infighting over power-sharing arrangements that has been threatening to not only tear the ruling coalition apart, but also the stability of the country after leaping from a semi-pariah nation to a showcase of democracy in the continent.

Shaky relations between Uganda and Sudan could be further strained by new accusations that Khartoum is supplying arms to rebels of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA). The Ugandan Government also claims that LRA leader Joseph Kony has finally crossed back into southern Sudan via the northern Ugandan town of Gulu to acquire more supplies.

The Team Leader will play a lead role in design and implementation of the Emergency Response Team's strategy for building agency capacity for enhanced emergency preparedness and response capacity.

Zambia's 120,000 public workers went on a nationwide strike on Tuesday aimed at forcing the government to honour a pay agreement it says it can no longer afford to implement. "We have officially started a countrywide strike because the government seems to be ignoring our demands, even after they signed a collective agreement," Civil Servants and Allied Workers Union of Zambia (CSUZ) secretary-general, Darrison Chaala, told IRIN.

Human rights activists have criticised the recent appointment of military officials alleged to have been involved in massacres in Kisangani, northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), during hostilities that erupted in May 2002.

A UN-appointed independent expert on human rights for Somalia has said the more attention given to human rights at the Somali peace talks in Kenya, the greater the scope for peace. Dr Ghanim Alnajjar arrived in the region this week on an 11-day mission. It is his third visit since his appointment by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in June 2001, according to a press statement from the UN Resident & Humanitarian Coordinator’s Office for Somalia.

An internationally brokered plan that carves up control of big revenue-earning sectors of the Liberian economy among the government and two rebel groups could perpetuate corruption and endanger redevelopment, a prominent opposition leader has warned. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the leading opposition candidate in the country's last presidential election, said proposals for international oversight of Liberian ministries and agencies could be frustrated by vested interests that became entrenched under ousted president Charles Taylor.

The Landless People's Movement - an autonomous national movement of poor and landless people struggling for land reform – has condemned the six-week incarceration of seven youth leaders of the poor and landless in prison, following their arrest on 3 July on an alleged murder charge.

This article argues that the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, fuelled by exploitation of natural resources and power struggles, is having an untold impact on the exploitation of children. The report suggests that the situation in the DRC is a result of decades of poor governance and broader regional insecurity.

The government of the Republic of Congo has set 15 September as its new date for returning thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the Pool region to their homes, revising its earlier target date of 31 July.

The Nigerian Red Cross said on Friday about 100 people were killed in five days of ethnic violence that rocked the southern oil city of Warri. The federal government meanwhile set up a task force to protect oil wells in the area and crack down on the massive theft of crude oil from pipelines.

Thousands of civilians were displaced by renewed clashes between Liberian government troops and rebel fighters at the weekend. The fighting took place less than a week after the signing of a peace agreement that was supposed to end 14 years of civil war.

The Special Court for Sierra Leone has moved with relative rapidity to bring to justice those who bear the greatest responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity during the country’s eleven-year civil war. However, senior court officials have acknowledged that they underestimated the difficulty of achieving recognition and international cooperation. The International Crisis Group (ICG) warns that the court needs to be careful not to appear to be subject to outside influence if it wants to fulfil its mandate with impartiality and provide a “new model” for international justice.

In the wake of the September 11th attack and the Iraq war, Nigeria's geopolitical significance to the U.S. has come into sharper relief. In March and April 2003, militancy across the Niger Delta radically disrupted oil production in this major oil supplier nation. News of these actions, following conflict-ridden national elections, has reinforced the notion that Nigeria and the new West African "gulf states" in general are matters of U.S. national security. This commentary takes issue with a May 2003 analysis of the situation by an influential Washington think tank, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The critique argues that the CSIS ignores the role of some key actors, the oil companies foremost among them.