Crises In Africa Problems Facing Independent African Countries

African Crises A.Civil War—Many countries have been devastated by civil wars. Sometimes these wars have led to genocide. B.AIDS—The virus has spread through much of Africa. C.Famine—Many droughts have occurred in Africa leading to starvation. D.Poverty—A majority of the people of Africa are poor.

Causes of Civil War in Africa A.Borders 1.When Africa was colonized by Europeans, they drew the borders for their colonies based on geographic land features and land claims. 2.They did not consider the different ethnic groups which lived in the areas. 3.This often led to rival tribes and groups living in the same country after independence was gained.

Causes of Civil War in Africa B.Poverty 1.Much of Africa suffers from extreme poverty. 2.Poverty has led to battles for control of valuable resources. 3.Rival groups, often based on ethnicity, try to control the resources in order to fund their military efforts.

Liberia The latest civil war began as groups tried to remove President Charles Taylor from power. He is currently facing charges of war crimes.

Rwanda and Burundi The Hutus and the Tutsis engaged in a bloody civil war. In 1994, hundreds of thousands of Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed, which led to a million Hutus fleeing fearing revenge from the Tutsi rebels that took control of the government.

Congo Civil War here has intensified after the flood of refugees from Rwanda and Burundi crossed the border. Fighting between the refugees continued. It is estimated that over three million people have died in the conflict.

Darfur Darfur is a region of Sudan that borders the country Chad. Sudan’s government has backed militias that have killed hundreds of thousands of people. The government is mainly Arab, and the people of Darfur come from three main tribes of black Africans who have accused the government of favoring Arabs.