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Old 09-27-2009, 05:24 AM
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Mohoender Mohoender is offline
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Default Upper guinea region

When I refer to that part of Africa, I’m aware that the region I’m referring to usually only includes Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. However, for reason of convenience I also added Guinea-Bissau and Senegal (Gambia included).

As most of Africa this region escapes the war but not its consequences and it is now largely under a stage of civil war that effectively started in the 1990’s. The first countries to enter civil war in the early 1990’s were Liberia and Sierra Leone and both conflicts intensified in 2000 when the UN and foreign troops had to be withdrawn because of the international situation becoming more tense everyday.

In Liberia, the rebellious movement opposing the brutal regime of Charles Taylor slowly gains supremacy until 2003 when Taylor’s regime ultimately falls. However, this doesn’t put an end to the civil war as Taylor’s regime is, then, replaced by an equally brutal one. More insurgency movements appear as a result of this and the civil war still goes on, making new victims everyday. In Sierra Leone, the situation could have evolved more favorably as some hope for a peaceful resolution of the conflict still existed in 2000. Sadly, after evacuating the foreigner, most of the international force withdraws and the conflict heats up again. Moreover, about a thousand Nigerian soldiers are left behind and survivors soon compose a marauding band that turns on the people they were supposed to protect.

In Guinea, after the arrest of several opposition leaders in September 2001, the country faces an outbreak of violence. Then, the increasingly dictatorial government and the growth of rebellious activity spreading from neighboring states finally bring the country to civil war in 2002. That conflict starts with huge protests taking place in the capital city of Conakry that are repressed in blood. Most casualties are of Fulani and Mandinka origin and the civil war quickly turns into an ethnic and religious conflict opposing the main ethnic groups of the country (Fulani, Madinka and Soussou).

As this is going on in Guinea, civil war already stroke Guinea-Bissau after the elections held in 2000. As soon as the first results are known, they are contested and within weeks the rebellious forces that had accepted peace a year earlier, takes up arms again. Four years later, the civil war has turned into a bloody ethnic conflict opposing Fula and Mandinka to the less numerous Balanta and Manjaco. In fact, that conflict has merged with the one in Guinea and both wars can be considered as one sole ethnic conflict with Fulan and Mandinka on one side and the other ethnic groups on the other side.

The only exception to this confused situation is that of Senegal which, under the leadership of its new president, reinforced its attachment to democracy. Nevertheless, the decaying world situation forced the government to rely more heavy on the army, expended it and rebuilding a combat air force that have been left to decay in the pre-war years. In addition, when violence went out of control in Ivory Coast, French troops were invited to Senegal and this strengthens the governmental position, helping the Senegalese authorities to resist the surrounding chaos trying to slip through the borders. Of course, civil unrest is not unheard of but it remains limited and mild while Dakar remains the main commercial harbor for Western Africa. In addition, the population still has access to some power supply and the average level of living is fairly high, contributing to general peace. The only exception to that comes from Casamance and Gambia which have join forces in an open war with Dakar. Civil unrest and low intensity guerilla in Casamance have been the rule for years but when the Twilight War appears, it increases dramatically and in recent years it has been increasingly fueled by guerilla movements operating essentially from Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.

NB: The given years are that of my timeline but all the conflicts I'm refering to are for the most part under way since 1990. Therefore, this course of events seemed plausible to me whatever the timelines.
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