Mozambique Insurgency: Close-up Map of Control in April 2021

There are newer editions of this map available. To see them, view all Mozambique articles on PolGeoNow.

It's finally here: the close-up, super-detailed version of our Mozambique insurgency control map! This edition depicts the situation near the beginning of this month, when the government was fighting for control of Palma. A new close-up version of our August 2020 map is also now available, and future updates are expected more frequently from now on. To see the full list of reports, you can always view all Mozambique articles on PolGeoNow.

Map by Evan Centanni and Djordje Djukic. Some elements © OpenStreetMap contributors. Terrain data sourced from ViewFinderPanoramas. Contact us for permission to use this map.

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Timeline by Djordje Djukic and Evan Centanni

New: Close-up Cabo Delgado Insurgency Map

In the eight months since our first Mozambique conflict timeline was published, insurgents in Cabo Delgado province have gradually increased their control, continuing to raid villages and towns in multiple districts, culminating most recently in their temporary takeover of most of Palma, a major town close to under-construction natural gas facilities operated by French company Total. The rebel group - locally known as "Al Shabaab" but thought to formally label itself Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jamâ (ASWJ) - is increasingly believed to be cooperating, if only loosely, with the so-called "Islamic State" (IS; ISIS/ISIL).

Now, for the first time, PolGeoNow presents our close-up map of the Cabo Delgado conflict, rigorously researched and edited to provide the most detailed, informative, and reliable map of insurgent control and attacks available anywhere.

Nagorno-Karabakh Control Map & Timeline: Artsakh Withdrawals - December 1, 2020

There are newer versions of this map available. To see them, view all Nagorno-Karabakh articles on PolGeoNow.

This update on the (approximate) final results of the 2020 Azerbaijan-Armenia war is free for all readers.

Map of current territorial control. By Evan Centanni and Djordje Djukic, starting from this map by
Bourrichon and Lesqual. License: CC BY-SA

 

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Timeline by Djordje Djukic

 

Artsakh/Armenian Forces Make Promised Withdrawals

Click to enlarge: Map of territorial changes during and after the war
(For credit and license see main map above)

Three weeks after the peace deal that brought an end to the 2020 war between Azerbaijan and the Armenia-backed, self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh, the latter side has completed the additional withdrawals it promised in the deal.

Though no official map has yet been released of the new lines of control, PolGeoNow has estimated their course based on news reporting and a comparison between information reported by various other online mapping projects.

Ukraine War Control Map & Report: September 2020

To see other maps in this series, plus a new map of Russian control in the 2022 invasion, view all Ukraine articles on PolGeoNow.

Map by Evan Centanni and Djordje Djukic. Contact us for permission to use this map.

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Timeline by Djordje Djukic, with additional reporting by Evan Centanni

Donbass Frontline Map

In the four years since PolGeoNow last updated our Ukraine control map, little has changed in terms of territorial boundaries in the region of eastern Europe known as the Donbass. Forces of the Russia-backed self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) still hold a large chunk of what most of the world considers Ukraine, though their plans of formally uniting into a confederation of "Novorossiya" ("New Russia") have long gone by the wayside. But as attempts at resolving the conflict peacefully grind slowly forward, fighting has continued at a low level along the frontlines, and we have made some small changes to the map where the situation has either changed or been clarified since 2016.

"Islamic State" in Mozambique? Control Map & Timeline of the Insurgency

There are newer editions of this map available. To see them, view all Mozambique articles on PolGeoNow.

This is the first edition of our new Mozambique control map series. To guarantee your access to future updates, sign up our conflict map subscription service (updates may be released for free if changes end up being very few or far between).

Map by Evan Centanni and Djordje Djukic. Contact us for permission to use this map. Terrain data sourced from ViewFinderPanoramas.

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Article by Evan Centanni and Djordje Djukic

Northern Mozambique's Insurgency: What We Do and Don't Know

Close-up version of the above map, with expanded timeline (subscriber exclusive; click for more info).

International headlines broke last week describing a takeover of a northern Mozambique "city" by what many of them called the "Islamic State" (IS; formerly ISIS/ISIL). If this came as a complete surprise to you, you're not alone - even international analysts were startled when the insurgency began in 2017, and though the insurgents have actually overrun Mocímboa da Praia more than once since then, news coverage has been pretty limited.

At PolGeoNow, researcher Djordje Djukic has been keeping an eye on this conflict for some time, and we're now pleased to present what we believe to be the world's first map series documenting territorial control in the northern Mozambique insurgency. 

Update: A much more detailed close-up version of the above map, adding insurgent raids and accompanied by an expanded timeline, is now available to our paid subscribers.

Libyan Civil War Map & Timeline - May 2020

There are newer versions of this map available. To see them, view all Libya updates.

This is a free edition of our Libya control map series. If you want access to our full collection of Libya maps, you can sign up for our conflict map subscription service.

Base map by Koen Adams of onestopmap.com, with territorial control by Evan Centanni and Djordje Djukic.
Contact us for permission to use this map.

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Timeline by Djordje Djukic, with additional reporting by Evan Centanni

Mapping Control in Libya as Proxy War Escalates

Since the time of our previous Libya control map report last month, the country's UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) has continued to gain ground in the west amid a major withdrawal of the rival Libyan National Army (LNA). The GNA's gains have been achieved with extensive support from Turkey, in the form of thousands of Turkish-allied Syrian rebel fighters as well as many Turkish-provided drones, in what the UN has called "the largest drone war in the world". Meanwhile, the LNA now has its own allied Syrian fighting force, brought in to support Russian private military contractors (PMCs), who are widely claimed to have the full support of Russia's government.

Schengen Border Controls in the Time of Coronavirus (April 14, 2020)

This map and article have been updated to April 14, 2020. You can also view the previous edition of the map, from March 27, with its accompanying timeline.

Since 2016, PolGeoNow has mapped reinstated border controls within Europe's Schengen free travel area, with the companion piece to this article covering changes from mid-2017 up to last month. Now, border controls between European countries have drastically expanded amid the global coronavirus pandemic. 

Read on for a country-by-country list of border controls and travel bans, plus a timeline of what went into effect when.

Map by Evan Centanni, from blank map by Ssolbergj. License: CC BY-SA

Article by Evan Centanni

Coronavirus-related Border Checks in the Schengen Area

As many travelers know, much of Europe is linked together as part of the "Schengen Area", a collection of countries that don't make travelers show any ID to cross the borders between them, and don't regulate what people bring across with them either (although this system is overseen by the European Union, the Schengen Area and the EU aren't the same thing). But under special circumstances, member countries can choose to temporarily resume border checks (also known as "border control").

Iraq Control Map & Timeline - January 2020

There are newer versions of this map available. To see them, view all Iraq updates.

Basemap by Koen Adams of onestopmap.com, with territorial control by Evan Centanni and Djordje Djukic.
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Timeline by Djordje Djukic, with additional reporting by Evan Centanni

Iraq Map: Who Controls What in 2020

In the nearly two years since our previous Iraq control map update, there have been few major changes to the situation on the ground. But the so-called "Islamic State" (IS; formerly ISIS/ISIL) isn't gone, and recent reports say the group has begun regaining power in the country's north. Tensions have also escalated recently between the US and Iran - both countries are heavily involved in Iraq, and have long competed for influence there. Meanwhile, the self-governed Kurdistan region remains in control of the far north, despite having lost some its claimed territory to the Iraqi central government in the aftermath of its controversial 2017 independence vote.

Map: What is the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)?

There are newer versions of this map available. To see them, view all AfCFTA updates.

Map by Evan Centanni, from blank map by Eric Gaba. License: CC BY-SA

New Trade Bloc: What is the AfCFTA Agreement?

Despite being neighbors, most countries in Africa trade more with other continents than with each other - a peculiar leftover of colonialism that the African Union (AU) has long been looking to change. Last year, the organization's member countries finally came together and agreed on the creation of one of the world's most expansive "free trade areas". The new zone, called the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), officially came into being on May 30, 2019, after a minimum threshold of 22 countries confirmed that they had copied its 2018 founding treaty into their national laws (a process called "ratification").

2015 in Afghanistan: Map of Taliban and "Islamic State" Control

(To see other maps in this series, view all Afghanistan updates.)

Welcome to PolGeoNow's new series of Afghanistan control maps! In the coming months, we'll publish more maps and timelines spanning the gap between 2015 and 2019, leading into routine updates of the current situation. To secure your access to all future installments, sign up now for our professional conflict map subscription service!

Basemap by Koen Adams of onestopmap.com, with territorial control by Evan Centanni.
Contact us for permission to use this map.

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Timeline by Evan Centanni

Afghanistan: Who Controlled What in 2015?

The date is October 2, 2015. In the year and a half since the low point of Taliban control shown in our April 2014 Afghanistan map, the rebel group has been steadily expanding its territory. Most recently, the Taliban have launched a surprise takeover of Kunduz city, one of northern Afghanistan's major population centers, and the first provincial capital they've controlled since their national government was overthrown in 2001. Meanwhile, as the current government pours all its resources into taking the city back, the Taliban take advantage of the chaos to seize control of various other districts across the Afghan countryside.

Meanwhile, the so-called "Islamic State" (IS; formerly ISIS/ISIL), based thousands of kilometers to the west in Iraq and Syria, has established a formidable new branch in Afghanistan. This IS affiliate - known officially as "Khorasan Province" - has carved out a small territory of its own in Nangarhar, along the border with Pakistan, and is now reaching what will be the height of its power in Afghanistan. Though both IS and the Taliban are religious hardliners, IS's brutal tactics, largely foreign membership, and claimed superiority have made it an enemy of the Taliban, and left it with very little support among the Afghan people.

"Macedonia": Why is a Name So Important?

Ancient definitions of Macedonia compared with modern borders.
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What's in a Name? The "Macedonia" Dispute

This Sunday, Southeastern Europe's Republic of Macedonia is voting on a deal with Greece that includes changing its name to "Republic of North Macedonia". Greece objects to its neighbor using the name "Macedonia", and has been locked in a bitter dispute over it ever since the smaller country declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.

The spat is serious enough that the Republic of Macedonia has been forced to accept the temporary name "former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" (FYROM) in the UN and other international organizations for the past 25 years, and has been blocked entirely from joining the European Union and NATO, where Greece holds veto power on new member applications.

Map: Costa Rica & Nicaragua Settle Border Dispute in Court

Map by Evan Centanni, based on materials submitted to the court. Contact for usage permissions.

World Court Rules on Costa Rica vs. Nicaragua

What happens when two countries draw their border along a river, then the river changes course? The world got to find out yesterday, as the UN's International Court of Justice (ICJ) released its judgement on a border dispute between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Though the court's ruling was dominated by a related request to define the two countries' borders at sea, it also involved a tiny sliver of land in a temperamental river delta.

Explainer: Is Jerusalem the Capital of Israel or Not?

Map by Evan Centanni. All rights reserved.

US recognizes Jerusalem as capital of Israel

This Wednesday, the United States government announced a new policy of recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. US president Donald Trump said the declaration's purpose was to "acknowledge the obvious", while also revealing plans to eventually move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. These decisions were extremely controversial, to say the least. But why? We'll break it down for you:

What's the big deal?

Israeli law says the city of Jerusalem is the country's capital. But even Israel's closest ally, the US, has never officially accepted the city's capital status. And the world's countries generally haven't either: In fact, no country in the world has a proper embassy in Jerusalem. So the new move by the US is a major change of policy, and one that runs contrary to an established world consensus.

Philippines: No More "Islamic State" Control in Marawi

Article by Evan Centanni

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Map of martial law and "Islamic State" control in the Philippines on June 4, 2017 (click for full-size map)

Rebel Takeover in Southern Philippines

In early June, we published a detailed map and timeline of control in the Filipino city of Marawi, which had been partly captured by rebel fighters claiming to representing the so-called "Islamic State" (IS; formerly ISIS/ISIL). In a matter of hours, hundreds of religious hardline fighters had launched a surprise takeover of the city, led by the recently-formed Maute rebel group and Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of the radical Abu Sayyaf network and the IS's officially designated leader for the Philippines.

The Filipino military quickly moved in to expel the fighters from Marawi, but the battle would drag on for another 5 months before the city was restored to full government control. As part of the government response, President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law across the entire southern Philippines. For more on the history of martial law in the Philippines, and rebellions in the country's south, see our article from June.

Catalonia Referendum: Detailed Results in 5 Maps

This map report is part of our Referendum 2017 coverage, spotlighting controversial independence votes in two of the world's autonomous regions: Kurdistan voted for independence from Iraq last month, and Catalonia tried to vote on leaving Spain on Oct. 1. Now we've mapped out Catalonia's results in detail based on data from the regional government.
 

Controversial Independence Vote

On October 1, Spain's autonomous region of Catalonia tried to hold a referendum on independence from Spain. After Spanish courts ruled the vote illegal, Spanish national police attempted to prevent voting, and the result was that voting was disrupted in many areas and not organized properly in most others. Still, Catalan government data states that some 42% of the region's residents came out to vote anyway, and of those who did, about 90% voted in favor of secession. Though Catalonia's president had promised to declare independence within 48 hours of a YES victory, so far he's delayed doing so.

Updated! Catalonia Referendum Results Maps: How Did Each Region Vote?

Updated! This article's maps and text have been updated with final results released by the Catalan government. See below for more details. We also now have an article with detailed results maps broken down by municipality.

This map report is part of our Referendum 2017 coverage, spotlighting controversial independence votes in two of the world's autonomous regions: Kurdistan voted for independence from Iraq last week, and Catalonia voted to leave Spain this weekend. Now detailed results are available, and we're working on getting them mapped out.

Maps by Evan Centanni, starting from blank map by Vinals and Rwxrwxrwx. License: CC BY-SA

Catalonia Independence Vote (Updated)

Detailed, final results are now available for Catalonia's controversial referendum on independence from Spain. The vote was widely disrupted by the Spanish police after courts ruled it illegal, resulting in massive irregularities that will make it hard for outsiders to accept as a proper democratic referendum. Still, some 43% of eligible Catalan voters reportedly made it out to cast ballots, meaning there's plenty of reported data to look at.

Referendum 2017: Iraqi Kurdistan Map

Two of the world's autonomous regions are about to vote in controversial independence referendums. Iraqi Kurdistan decides on independence from Iraq this Monday, and on October 1 Catalonia plans to vote on leaving Spain. PolGeoNow will be covering these events with a series of articles, but in the meantime we couldn't wait to share our new Iraqi Kurdistan map with you!

Graphic by Evan Centanni and Djordje Djukic, incorporating base map by Koen Adams of onestopmap.com. All rights reserved.

Iraqi Kurdistan Independence Referendum

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq (Iraqi Kurdistan for short) is just part of the traditional homeland of the Kurds, the Middle East's fourth-largest ethnic group after Arabs, Persians, and Turks.

Many Kurds also live in Turkey, Syria, and Iran. But Iraqi Kurdistan is where they have the most legal rights, governing themselves in what's internationally recognized as an autonomous region within Iraq.

But all's not well in Kurdistan-Iraq relations. Iraqi Kurds suffered through horrific violence and persecution in the 1980s and 90s, and now the region's top politician has staked his reputation on separating Kurdistan from Iraq permanently.

"Islamic State" in the Philippines? Detailed Control Map & Timeline of the Marawi Conflict

Map by Evan Centanni. All rights reserved.

Schengen Border Controls in February 2017: Map of Free Travel Restrictions

There are newer versions of this map available. To see them, view all Schengen Area articles. 

Last year, we explained Europe's Schengen free travel area in plain English, then published maps of which European countries had temporarily reintroduced border controls as of March 2016 and August 2016. We now present an updated map and summary of the situation.

Map by Evan Centanni, from blank map by Ssolbergj. License: CC BY-SA

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Article by Evan Centanni

Changes to Schengen Border Controls Since 2016

As anyone who's visited Europe in recent decades knows, much of the continent is linked together as part of the "Schengen Area", a collection of countries that don't make travelers show any ID to cross back and forth across their borders (though this system is overseen by the European Union, the Schengen Area and the EU are not the same thing). But the system does allow countries to temporarily reintroduce border controls under certain circumstances.

Yemen Control Map & Report: December 2016

There are newer versions of this map available. To see them, view all Yemen updates.

This is part of a series of Yemen maps and infographics created in collaboration between PolGeoNow and CIGeography.

Click to enlarge. Map by Louis Martin-Vézian, Evan Centanni, and Djordje Djukic. All rights reserved.

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Timeline by Djordje Djukic

Situation Summary
In the past three months since our previous Yemen control map report, fighting has continued between Houthi rebels and forces loyal to the Saudi-backed government of President Hadi, with small changes to territorial control on the eastern and northern fringes of Houthi territory, including along Yemen's border with Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has remained entrenched in parts of the east, while allegedly capturing an area near its one-time stronghold of Rada in the country's west.

Map of Boko Haram/"Islamic State" Control in Nigeria: October 2015

(To see other maps in this series, view all Boko Haram updates on PolGeoNow.)

Map by Evan Centanni. All rights reserved.

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By Evan Centanni

The "Islamic State" in Nigeria
Northeastern Nigeria's Boko Haram rebels, despite being pushed out of most of the territory they held last year, are still a major force in the region.

After becoming an official affiliate of Iraq and Syria's so-called "Islamic State" (IS, a.k.a ISIS/ISIL) last March, they have now taken to calling themselves the Islamic State's West Africa Province (ISWAP).