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The Senegalese government is engaged in a decades-old non-international armed conflict (NIAC) in Casamance, the southwestern limb of Senegal, with the Mouvement des Forces Démocratiques de la Casamance (MFDC), a decentralized non-state armed group aspiring to complete independence of the region. Our Rule of Law in Armed Conflict (RULAC) online portal provides a detailed analysis and legal classification of this NIAC, including information about parties to the conflict, its classification as a NIAC and applicable international law.

In 2018, 69 situations of armed violence amounted to armed conflicts according to international humanitarian law and international criminal law. The vast majority are non-international armed conflicts, as in preceding years.

In Mexico, there has been armed violence between the government and a number of cartels, as well as between such cartels over the past decades. In this context, our Rule of Law in Armed Conflict (RULAC) online portal concludes that Mexico and the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG, Jalisco Cartel New Generation) are parties to a non-international armed conflict (NIAC).

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been affected by several armed conflicts in recent decades. Political tensions, the proliferation of armed groups and the involvement of foreign countries have contributed to the deterioration of the situation and have prevented the possibility of reaching a peaceful settlement of these conflicts. The regions that have been most affected are Kivu, Kasai, and Ituri, although violence is widespread and affects the whole country. In this context, and according to international humanitarian law criteria, the Congolese armed forces (FARDC) are engaged, with the support of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), in several non-international armed conflicts (NIACs) in Kivu, Kasai and Ituri. Our Rule of Law in Armed Conflict Online Portal (RULAC) provides a detailed analysis and legal classification of these conflicts, including information about parties.

Since 2012, the Government of Mali has engaged in multiple and overlapping non-international armed conflicts (NIACs) against various insurgent groups, most notably Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), the Plateforme, and the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA). France and the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) support the Government of Mali in its efforts to restore state control over areas in the hands of non-state armed groups and are parties to these NIACs. Our Rule of Law in Armed Conflict (RULAC) online portal provides a detailed analysis and legal classification of the various NIACs that are taking place in Mali, including information about parties to these conflicts.

The War Report article Central African Republic: Sectarian and Inter-Communal Violence Continues provides detailed information about the history of the ongoing conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR), parties to the conflict, key developments in 2018 and war crimes allegations since July 2002. Written by Giulia Marcucci, currently enrolled in our LLM in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, it will form part, along with other analysis of conflict situations, of the War Report 2018 which will be published in the first quarter of 2019.

Our new War Report article Democratic Republic of the Congo: Conflict in the Eastern Regions provides background information on the current violence in the county, recent developments and the main parties to the conflict in North and South Kivu, Ituri and Northern Katanga. The article also provides information about ongoing investigations and prosecutions by the International Criminal Court (ICC) regarding alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Written by Giulia Marcucci, currently enrolled in our LLM in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, it will form part, along with other analysis of conflict situations, of the War Report 2018 which will be published in the first quarter of 2019.

The Government of Sudan is involved in several non-international armed conflicts (NIACs) against a number of armed groups in Darfur, Kordofan and Blue Nile states. In addition, there is also a NIAC between two factions of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-North – one based in the Nuba Mountains and led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu and the other operating in White Nile state and led by Malik Agar.Our Rule of Law in Armed Conflict (RULAC) online portal provides a detailed analysis and legal classification of these various NIACs and information about parties to these conflicts.