Showing posts with label dr congo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dr congo. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

DR Congo War: The History of M23 Control (Map)

[Editor's note: This map article was published in late 2013, and was originally intended to be the first piece in PolGeoNow's conflict map subscription service. Subscriber coverage has since refocused on other conflicts, and we're now making this piece free for all readers.]

From 2012 to 2013, the M23 rebels became the Democratic Republic of the Congo's most powerful rebel group in recent history, establishing military control over a major city in country's east. You may have heard how M23 was defeated suddenly in late 2013, but do you know what territory they controlled while they were active? Learn more with this exclusive map of M23's territorial possessions over time, as well as a primer on the group's short history and ultimate defeat.

Historical M23 Control Map: Map of territory controlled by the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, both at their height in late 2012 and during their retreat in 2013. Also file under: What happened to M23?
Map by Evan Centanni (all rights reserved).

Congo's War with M23

The Democratic Republic of the Congo - formerly known as Zaire - has been at war for decades. After serving as the stage for a regional conflict partly sparked by the Rwandan Genocide in the mid-1990s, as well as a follow-up war spanning officially from 1998 to 2003, the eastern DRC has become the stomping ground of dozens of rebel groups with often-shifting allegiances.

The March 23 Movement, better known as M23, only appeared in May of 2012. However, it quickly became the most prominent of the many rebel forces operating in the region, carving out its own area of territorial control and proving a match for the Congolese army. In late 2012 it captured Goma, a city of one million and the capital of Congo's North Kivu province. It was eventually crushed in a rapid military campaign by the army and a UN peacekeeper intervention brigade in November 2013.

Monday, October 24, 2011

News Bits: October 2011

"News Bits" posts cover minor political geography events from the last few months. Although the news may be of great political relevance, these events haven't (yet) affected major changes to the shapes, sovereignty, or political status of the world's countries.

Yemen: Militias Take Territory From Islamists
Territory and areas of influence for rebels (blue) and Islamic
extremists (red) in Yemen. Map is my own work, starting
from this map by German Wikipedia user NordNordWest
(license: CC BY-SA). (Corrected November 20, 2011)
In Yemen's ongoing political crisis (See: Yemen Fragments Under Uprising), some territory previously held by Islamist militants has fallen under the control of unsympathetic non-government forces, whose presence around the country seems to be expanding. The Islamists, who call themselves Ansar al-Sharia ("Partisans of Islamic Law"), have occupied the cities of Jaar, Zinjibar, and Shuqra in Abyan province for several months now, along with various smaller towns both in Abyan and in heighboring Shabwah. However, since July, many of the smaller towns have fallen into the hands of local militias, and the Yemeni government has gained ground in the Zinjibar area. Though the local militias are currently working alongside the government, it is unclear whether it may be only a temporary truce. Yemen's opposition forces are composed of a mixture of local and kinship-based militias, army defectors, and pre-existing rebel groups, which sometimes work together but are increasingly clashing among themselves. The country's third largest city, Taiz, is largely under the control of opposition forces, as are some parts of the capital, Sana'a. (More Yemen news on Political Geography Now)

Sudan No Longer Africa's Largest Country
Now that the South Sudan has gained independence (See: New Country - South Sudan), the remainder of Sudan is no longer Africa's largest country by area. Sudan's one-time top spot was  followed by Algeria in second place and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in third. However, the secession of South Sudan  removed a substantial portion of Sudan's territory, and the northern remainder of the country now ranks third in Africa - after Algeria and the DRC. South Sudan ranks 19th, out of a total of 54 U.N.-recognized countries in Africa. (Graphic my own work, based on this map by Wikipedia user Mangwanani. License: CC BY-SA)

Map showing most of the Cooch Behar
enclaves. By Dutch Wikipedia user
Jeroen (source). License: CC BY-SA
Wikipedia: List of African Countries and Territories

Indo-Bangladesh Treaty Defines Border, Trades Enclaves
A treaty signed last month between the governments of India and Bangladesh fully defines the border between the two countries, and provides for the trade of dozens of enclaves. The Indo-Bangladesh enclaves, also known as "chitmahals" or the "Cooch Behar enclaves" (after the district of India which most of them either belong to or are located inside), number well over 100, including patches of Indian territory within Bangladesh and patches of Bengladeshi territory within India. Their inhabitants have long suffered under abominable living conditions due to the fact that they have access neither to services from their own country (because of their isolation) nor to services from the country surrounding them (because they are not considered part of its territory). Under the new agreement, based on a 1974 deal that was never adopted, nearly all of the enclaves will be ceded to whichever country surrounds them, and inhabitants will have a choice of citizenship. The two parties also defined the border in several previously disputed or undemarcated areas. The treaty will not go into effect until it is ratified by both countries' legislatures.


Location of Rastan within Syria. Based on this
map
by German Wikipedia user NordNordWest.
License: CC BY-SA
Syrian City Falls Briefly to Rebels
In Syria's ongoing uprising, the city of Rastan fell under control of protester-friendly rebel forces for a few weeks last month, before ultimately being retaken by government troops. The crisis in Syria, seen as part of the so-called "Arab Spring" movement for democratic change in the Middle East, began with protests last January. By march it had escalated to widespread displays of defiance in the streets, to which the government responded by sending in tanks and soldiers. However, the resistance was mostly unarmed until army defectors began organizing against the military in September. The city of Rastan, one of several major protest centers, was taken over by anti-government forces, which were not driven out until October 1. So far there have been no more reports of Syrian cities falling under armed anti-government control, but protests and violent government crackdowns continue in full gear.