9PART 1SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

5 COUNTRIES WITH MOSTNEW DISPLACEMENT(conflict, violence and disasters)
Ethiopia

3,191,000

DRC

Conflict 7,446,000
Disasters 2,611,000
36% of the global total

1,921,000

Nigeria

1,154,000

Somalia

1,125,000

CAR

519,300

Sub-Saharan Africa experienced ongoing as well as new
conflict and violence throughout 2018 and in addition,
suffered droughts, floods and storms that forced millions
of people to flee their homes. Around 7.4 million new
displacements associated with conflict and violence and2.6 million associated with disasters were recorded,
more than any other region and accounting for 36 percent of all displacements worldwide. Ethiopia, DRC,
Nigeria, Somalia and CAR were the countries worst
affected. Around 16.5 million people were living ininternal displacement in Sub-Saharan Africa as a resultof conflict as of the end of the year. This figure once
again shows that protracted displacement is a significant issue for many countries.
Against a backdrop of important and many positive
political changes, 2.9 million new displacements associated with conflict were recorded in Ethiopia, thehighest figure in the world and four times as many asin 2017. Old conflicts became more entrenched andnew conflicts escalated along various state borders,
prompting the government to establish a new Ministryof Peace in response to the increasing violence (seeEthiopia spotlight, p.14).10 Disasters also triggered
296,000 new displacements, many of them associatedwith flooding in the Somali region.11
More than 1.8 million new displacements associatedwith conflict were recorded in DRC, primarily in Northand South Kivu, Tanganyika and Kasai Central provinces,where conflict and insecurity continued. The provinceof Ituri had been embroiled in conflict between 1999
and 2007 and had since been relatively peaceful, butintercommunal violence reignited in December 2017,leading to 60 deaths and more than 576,000 new
displacements. What rekindled the conflict is unclear,but a national political crisis, the disintegration of stateauthority and the increasing activity of politically-motivated militias may all have been contributing factors.12
The western province of Mai-Ndombe also experienced
an outbreak of intercommunal violence between 16
and 18 December 2018, when at least 535 people were
killed in a massacre and around 12,000 people displaced
from the town of Yumbi.13
More than three million people were thought to be living
in internal displacement as of the end of 2018 in DRC,a highly conservative figure that does not capture thewhole country. There are hopes that presidential elections that took place on 30 December after a two-year
delay will help to stabilise the political situation.14
More than 578,000 new displacements associated withconflict and violence were recorded in Somalia, thehighest figure in a decade and the result of three main
factors. Evictions from urban centres, mainly of IDPs,
accounted for about 44 per cent of the figure. Driven bya lack of adequate housing and informal tenure agreements in increasingly crowded areas, the number ofevictions reached a record high.15 Tensions between
Somaliland and Puntland over the disputed regions ofSool and Sanaag also flared, and Al Shabaab fighters
clashed with government and African Union troops,
particularly in the southern regions of Middle and Lower
Shabelle.16

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In addition, around 547,000 new displacements associated with disasters were recorded in Somalia. Almost
half of the figure, or 249,000, were associated withdrought, mainly in the southern regions of Bay, Lower
Shabelle and Bakool, as people moved from rural areas
in search of water and livelihood opportunities. Above
average rainfall also caused flooding in southern andcentral areas of the country during the rainy season in
April and May, triggering around 289,000 new displacements. Some families in remote villages were cut off
from the rest of the country for months, leaving themin particularly vulnerable conditions.17
Conflict and violence in the north-eastern and Middle
Belt regions of Nigeria triggered 541,000 new displacements in 2018, and floods inundated 80 per cent of thecountry, triggering 600,000. Clashes between northernherders and southern farmers competing for scarce
resources have taken place in Middle Belt since 2014,
but the violence escalated significantly last year, triggering 200,000 new displacements. Whole villages andherder settlements were burnt down and hundreds ofpeople were killed, making the conflict more deadly
than the Boko Haram insurgency.18
Fighting between the government and armed opposition groups in the north-east of the country entered
its tenth year, triggering 341,000 new displacements.
Despite the ongoing insecurity, the government insiststhat Boko Haram is near defeat and has been promoting
returns to some parts of the north-east. At least 311,000
IDPs were recorded as having returned in 2018, alongwith more than 30,000 Nigerian refugees returningfrom Cameroon.19 Based on data on housing conditionsof returnees, however, at least 86,000 people returned
to partially damaged housing or makeshift shelters.
Around two million people were thought to be living
in displacement as a result of conflict as of the end theyear (Nigeria spotlight, p.18).
Other countries in the Lake Chad Basin also continued tobe affected by the Boko Haram insurgency, with morethan 52,000 new displacements recorded in Niger and22,000 in Cameroon. There was not enough reliable
information to compile an estimate for new displacements for Chad for 2018, but displacement is thought
to be ongoing in the country.
The impact of Boko Haram in Cameroon was overshadowed by 437,000 new displacements in the Northwest
and Southwest regions, where tensions over govern-

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ment moves to impose French on the anglophone population that had been simmering since 2016 erupted into
armed conflict between separatists and the military(Cameroon spotlight, p.16).
Continued fighting between armed groups in CAR
triggered 510,000 new displacements in 2018, leavingaround 641,000 people living in internal displacement asof the end of the year. Clashes in Ouham Pende, Ouaka
and Haut-Kotto prefectures triggered the majority ofthe displacement, including in the urban centres of
Bambari and Bria. The government signed a peace deal
with 14 armed factions in February 2019, raising hopesthat levels of violence and displacement would decreasein the future.
In South Sudan, more than 321,000 new displacements associated with conflict were recorded during theyear, leaving almost 1.9 million people living in internal
displacement as of December. The two main parties tothe conflict signed a peace deal in September 2018, butthere was no immediate reduction in violence.20
Clashes in neighbouring Sudan between the government and the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army(SLM/A) triggered 41,000 new displacements in theJebel Marra mountains at the intersection between
South, North and Central Darfur. Torrential rains andlandslides also triggered 420 new displacements in thesame area in early September.21 SLM/A declared a unilateral three-month ceasefire the same month to allow
humanitarian access to those affected.22
Around 5,600 returns to the five states that make up
the Darfur region were recorded in 2018, but a lack of
information about people’s circumstances and reportsof returnees being attacked raised serious questions
about their sustainability.23 The Sudanese governmentis also working with the international community toconvert a number of displacement camps into residential
areas, leading to IDPs’ de facto local integration –a
positive move though the outcome remains to be seen.24
Around 126,000 new displacements associated withconflict and violence were recorded in Mali, 42,000 in
Burkina Faso, 5,000 in Ghana, 3,500 in Benin and
3,000 in Sierra Leone, between them accounting
for a significant increase in the overall figure for West
Africa compared to 2017. Inter-communal clashes in
Mali between Fulani herders and Dogon and Bambara
farmers escalated during the year, and intra-community

11PART 1

Internally displaced people return to theirhomes in Kipese, a small town situated in
North Kivu province, which was affectedby armed conflict in May 2018. Photo:
NRC/Martin Lukongo, July 2018

violence among the Fulani and attacks by extremistgroups added to the instability. Many villages werelooted and torched, making returns more challenging. Armed Islamist groups have increased theirpresence in Burkina Faso since 2016, prompting counterterrorism operations in 2017 and 2018 that led tonumerous allegations of extrajudicial killings, arbitraryarrests and the abuse of suspects in custody.25
Small to medium-scale disasters affected many countries in the region in 2018, events that tend not toreceive enough attention or resources despite theirsevere impacts on people and local economies. Around
336,000 new displacements were recorded in Kenya
as heavy rains led to flooding in all of the country’s 47
counties. Thousands of hectares of farmland were inundated and livestock killed, threatening the livelihoods ofpastoralists and farmers alike.26 At least six dams burst,
triggering around 12,000 new displacements. Flooding
also led to 158,000 new displacements in Uganda,

121,000 in Sudan, 56,000 in Ghana, 15,000 in Liberia
and 3,000 in Côte d’Ivoire.
These significant levels of displacement occurred despite
policy progress in the region. 2019 marks the tenthanniversary of the African Union Convention for theProtection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons
in Africa.27 Also known as the Kampala Convention, itis the world’s only legally binding regional instrument
on internal displacement. Renewed commitment to its
provisions on the part of African Union member statesis needed, however, given that new and protracted
displacement continue to be a major challenge. Niger
should be commended for becoming the first country toincorporate the convention into its domestic legislation,
when parliament voted unanimously to adopt a nationallaw on internal displacement in December 2018.28

12

Urban perspectives
Internal displacement in Sub-Saharan Africa takes
place against the backdrop of unprecedented urbanisation. The region is still substantially rural with 40
per cent of its population living in cities, but this is set
to change considerably in the coming years.29 African
cities are among the fastest growing in the world andsome, including Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, Kampala
in Uganda, Abuja in Nigeria, Ouagadougou in Burkina
Faso and Bamako in Mali, are expected to double insize by 2035.30
The rapid and unplanned nature of much of this urbanisation has the potential to aggravate existing challenges and create new ones. Many of the region’s urban
dwellers have little or no access to water and sanitation.31 Millions of people live in inadequate housing inovercrowded, underserved and marginalised neighbourhoods, in conditions of high exposure and vulnerability
to hazards and displacement risk.32 Some cities are also
trying to cope with significant influxes of IDPs fromrural areas.
Urban floods are a major challenge. Six of the tenlargest flooding events that triggered displacement in2018 were in Sub-Saharan Africa, and urban areas bore
the brunt of the impacts. Thousands of people weredisplaced during the rainy season in cities including
Beledweyne in Somalia and Lagos in Nigeria. IDMC’s
flood displacement risk model suggests that floods arelikely to displace on average 2.7 million people in theregion at any given year in the future, two-thirds ofthem in urban and peri-urban areas.
When crises hit, local authorities often struggle torespond to the needs of those affected, including IDPs.33
They tend to be understaffed and underfunded, andrely on resources provided by national authorities andin some cases the international humanitarian community. Response capacity also varies between smaller andlarger cities, an issue that needs to be considered infuture interventions and investments that aim to tackle
the challenges associated with urban displacement.34
The municipal governments of Maiduguri in Nigeria andMogadishu in Somalia have taken some positive steps
to this end. IDPs in both cities face specific vulnerabilities related to their displacement, including access toemployment and livelihoods and the risk of forced evic-

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tions. In response, the local government in Maiduguri
has collaborated with Nigeria’s central bank to set up
entrepreneurship centres for unemployed young people
and IDPs. In Mogadishu, the Banadir regional authority
has worked with the UN and the private sector to create
a durable solutions unit to support employment creationand entrepreneurship programmes for IDPs.35
Such initiatives serve as examples to other local governments of their potential to facilitate durable solutions.
Urbanisation in Sub-Saharan Africa will continue to playa major role in shaping the region’s development. It has
the potential to bring significant social and economic
benefits, including alleviating poverty and inequality
and reducing the risks and impacts of displacement.36
To do so, the role of local authorities must be leveraged.

13PART 1

Somali families that fled conflict and drought live in crowded and unhealthy
conditions in a shelter camp in Kismayo in southern Somalia. With shelters madeonly of plastic, cloth and sticks, families here are vulnerable to flooding andinsecurity. Photo: NRC/Jepsen, February 2019

14
SPOTLIGHTETHIOPIA
New waves of conflict cause
unprecedented displacement
Ethiopia had the highest number of new internal
displacements associated with conflict worldwide in
2018. The country’s crisis has been deepening steadily
since 2016, but conflict and intercommunal violence
escalated significantly and spread to new areas lastyear, triggering almost 2.9 million new displacements,
four times the figure for 2017. Conflict and displacement were recorded along three of the Oromia region’sborders, with the Southern Nations, Nationalities andPeoples’ (SNNP) region in the south-west, the Benishangul-Gumuz region in the north-west and the Somali
region in the east. Urban centres were also affected,
including Addis Ababa and Jijiga, the capital of theSomali region.37
This unprecedented rise in new displacement comesagainst the backdrop of significant political change inthe country, with a new prime minister taking powerin April 2018. The new government ended the country’s state of emergency, released political prisoners
and forged a peace deal with Eritrea.38 It has also
been praised for abandoning past practices including
the excessive use of force to curb protests and for its
cooperation with aid agencies in responding to acutehumanitarian needs. By doing so the new government
has acknowledged the presence of conflict-induced
IDPs within its border. A crucial step towards addressing
their plight.39
After two decades of relative calm, the most significant
displacement was triggered by inter-communal violence
between the Guji and Gedeo ethnic groups that erupted
in April and again in June in the West Guji zone ofOromia and the Gedeo zone of SNNP. Underlying
ethnic tensions were aggravated by competition forland and scarce resources.40 The conflict left hundreds ofthousands of people sheltering in overcrowded collective centres, where humanitarian agencies struggled
to provide food, health, water and sanitation for the
rapidly growing displaced population. The government
collaborated with the agencies, who had no previous

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presence in the south of the country, to set up andcoordinate a large-scale response.41
Ethnic violence also broke out between Oromos,
Amharas and Gumuz in Benishangul Gumuz in Octoberfollowing the killing of three local police officers.42
Around 62,000 new displacements were recorded
between October and December. Humanitarian needs
were acute, but insecurity hampered agencies’ accessand only one aid delivery was reported.43
Fighting and displacement that began along theborder between the Oromia and Somali regions in2017 continued unabated last year. Conflict over the
disputed border was aggravated by drought, which
increased competition for scarce resources, leading to
the displacement of ethnic Oromos living in the Somali
region and ethnic Somalis living in Oromia. Hundreds ofthousands of new displacements were recorded. Heavy
fighting in the Oromo town of Moyale between theSomali Garreh and Oromi Borenas sub-clans triggeredaround 80,000 new displacements in two weeks in
December. The town also suffered significant damage.
Its hospital was destroyed and its shops and bankslooted.44
Inter-communal violence in Jijiga, a previously calm andvibrant city, led to the displacement of 140,000 people
in just a few days in August, of whom 35,000 remainedin the city and sheltered in and around churches. Jijiga
was inaccessible for several weeks as a result of the insecurity, but economic activity had resumed by the middleof the month and many people returned once the situation had stabilised.45 Clashes on the outskirts of Addis

15

Displaced women attending
a focus group discussion on
beneficiary satisfaction in Guji
Zone, Oromia Region. Photo:
Rikka Tupaz / UN Migration
Agency (IOM) 2017

Ababa in September, when Oromo youth flocked tothe capital to welcome Oromo Liberation Front fighters
returning from Eritrea, displaced 15,000 people.46
Ethiopia’s new government has put a number of measures in place in response to the country’s displacement
crisis, including peace-building activities to promote
voluntary returns and programmes to support those
who prefer to integrate into their host communities orsettle elsewhere.47 A minister for peace has also been
appointed. A durable solutions strategy for the Somali
region was developed in 2017 in line with the Guiding
Principles and the Kampala Convention, a regional
treaty on IDPs’ protection and assistance.48

The government has been criticised, however, forencouraging premature returns to regions not yet safeand for not doing enough to protect civilians.49 Nor
has Ethiopia ratified the Kampala Convention yet. In
light of the country’s growing internal displacement
crisis and in the spirit of improving policies to tackle thephenomenon, the tenth anniversary of the convention’s
adoption in 2019 presents an ideal opportunity to do so.

16
SPOTLIGHTCAMEROONA deepening but neglected crisis
Boko Haram’s regional insurgency continued to cause
displacement in Cameroon in 2018, but events in the
Far North region were all but eclipsed by an internal
conflict that erupted in the Northwest and Southwest
regions, home to the country’s anglophone minority.
A protest movement that began in 2016 escalated into
fighting between armed separatists and the country’s
military, triggering around 437,000 new displacements
during the year. Another 30,000 people fled acrossthe border into Nigeria.

The Northwest and Southwest regions, with a population of four million people, have long been marginalised
and have experienced occasional outbreaks of violenceas the government suppressed protests. The latest
violence has its roots in a strike declared by lawyers’ andteachers’ trade unions over the government’s efforts toimpose French on the two sectors. Cameroon’s security
forces launched a violent crackdown on protests insupport of the strike, and numerous anglophone activists were arrested, including 47 in Nigeria.
This repression in turn led elements of the opposition
to take up arms, and separatist groups calling for an
independent Ambazonia Republic have engaged inarmed confrontation with the military since January
2018. The government has responded with full-blown
counterinsurgency operations. It has been accused ofengaging in extrajudicial executions, excessive use offorce, the torture and ill-treatment of suspected separatists and other detainees and the burning of homes
and property.50
Military operations have been recorded in more than 100
villages in the Southwest and Northwest regions since
October 2017.51 Most if not all of the inhabitants of thevillages targeted have fled, and around 80 per cent arethought to have sought refuge in the forest, where they
have no access to shelter, water or sanitation.52 Meme
Division in the Southwest region has borne the brunt of
the crisis, producing and hosting the majority of IDPs.

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Education has been severely disrupted. Many schools
shut down as part of the initial protests, and armed
groups have banned them from reopening. They havealso burned some schools down, and threatened others
who did not comply with the ban. Around 42,500 children are thought to be out of school as a result, and thefigure is expected to rise to 311,000 in 2019.53
The insecurity and violence have also underminedpeople’s livelihoods. The majority of the population
depends on agriculture and small-scale trade for aliving, and people’s inability to access their land andmarkets as a result of displacement has led to serious
food shortages.54
Humanitarian needs in both the Southwest and Northwest regions are acute, but the response has been
limited. Instances of new displacements have evenbeen reported in the Ouest and Littoral regions, as theconflict has spilled over into neighbouring regions. The
UN’s Humanitarian Response Plan published in May
2018 called for $15.2 million to reach 160,000 people,
but the number of IDPs and others in need has sincerisen significantly. Very few international agencies arepresent on the ground, and those who are have had
to prioritise the little funding they receive to address
the basic needs of the newly displaced people.55 The

17
response began to gather pace in the second half ofthe year, but by the end of the year, only 40 per centof the requested funding had been secured.56
Education lies at the heart of Cameroon’s new conflict,and the government has continued to enforce Frenchin anglophone schools despite intense and widespread
opposition. Doing so drives the tensions that have triggered violence and displacement. The education sector
has been particularly hard hit, but the response has
been hampered by limited funding and competing
priorities.57 More humanitarian assistance will reducethe impact on those affected, particularly children, but
a political solution to the conflict is key to preventing
further displacement.

Displaced families in northeast Cameroon waiting to receive
emergency aid. Photo: NRC/Philippe Douryan

18
SPOTLIGHT

NIGERIA
Floods and conflict converged todeepen an existing crisis
More than 541,000 new displacements associatedwith conflict and violence were recorded in Nigeria
in 2018, bringing the number of people living in
displacement as of the end of the year to 2.2 million.
Ongoing conflict in north-eastern states and new
conflict between herders and farmers over scarce
resources in the Middle Belt led to 341,000 and
200,000 new displacements, respectively. Thirty-fourof Nigeria’s thirty-six states were also affected byflooding as the banks of the Benue and Niger rivers
burst, triggering 600,000 new displacements andsubmerging thousands of homes.58
Despite official insistence that Boko Haram is close todefeat, attacks by armed opposition groups continued
last year, particularly in the north-eastern states of
Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.59 About 90 per cent of
IDPs, or just over two million, were living in the northeast of the country as of the end of 2018. An estimated832,000 people also continue to live in areas under thecontrol of armed groups in the north-east and remain
inaccessible to aid workers.60 Humanitarian access has
been severely restricted throughout the ten years ofconflict, despite organisations’ efforts to negotiate entry
points.
Over 311,000 movements were reported as returns bydata providers in 2018; however, these are not considered sustainable as IDPs are returning to damaged or
destroyed housing, or are still living in areas plaguedby security risks. The Nigerian government is investingin reconstruction initiatives to promote IDPs’ return.61
In the Bama area of Borno state, it built or renovatedaround 10,000 homes, more than 150 classrooms andmore than 50 hand water pumps. It approved the returnof 120,000 IDPs in March 2018, but armed groups
are still active in the area.62 Concerns about the volatile security situation led the UN and the Borno state
governor to sign a returns policy framework, whichstates that basic services and security must be restored

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before IDPs go back to their areas of origin. As such, it
is an important step toward ensuring safe, sustainable
and dignified returns.63
In the Middle Belt, tensions that had been brewing
for four years between pastoralists from the north of
the region and farmers from the south erupted into
armed conflict in 2018, leading to significant violenceand destruction. Desertification associated with climatechange was a factor, degrading already overstretched
pasture and forcing herders to move south in searchof grazing land. The conflict in the north-east has also
driven herders south. These factors combined withothers in 2018 to inflame tensions. New anti-grazing laws
in Benue state enraged herders, who were pushed intoneighbouring states where they clashed with farmers,
and a culture of impunity for past crimes, including
killings and the destruction of villages, has aggravatedthe situation further by encouraging people to takethe law into their own hands. Only five people havebeen tried and sentenced for killings in the region since2017. The under-reporting of the crisis and the lack ofhumanitarian presence in the area mean that reported
displacement figures are likely to be underestimates.64
The majority of the new displacements associatedwith the Middle Belt conflict were recorded in Benue,
Nasarawa and Plateau states. Local emergency management agencies have been responding to the crisis. For
example, the Plateau State Emergency Management
Agency has been providing food and water to IDPs incamps in the state, but shortages are still reported.65
Camp residents complain of overcrowding and lack ofwater. More than 60 per cent of those displaced in the19Congestion of the Teachers Village camp in Maiduguri,
Borno State resulted in lack of shelter and more than
10,000 internally displaced persons had to be moved toa new site. Photo: IOM/Jorge Galindo, March 2019

region are children, who are out of school.66 There has
been a significant international response to the displacement situation in the north-east, but no significant
international presence is engaged with the unfolding
Middle Belt crisis.67
Nigeria is also highly prone to flooding, which wasparticularly widespread in 2018. Eighty per cent of thecountry was inundated at some point during the year,
and the government declared a state of emergency inthe worst-affected states of Anambra, Delta, Kogi and
Niger.68 Hundreds of thousands of hectares of agricultural land were flooded, harming the livelihoods offarmers who lost crops.69 In urban areas, poor planning and zoning means many residential areas havebeen built on exposed river banks and flood plains. This
combined with poor drainage systems makes homes
highly vulnerable to regular flooding.70 The Nigerian
Red Cross has been at the forefront of the response to
those displaced by the flooding.71

Nigeria has Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest populationand economy, but conflict, disasters and development
projects cause significant displacement each year.72 Thegovernment was presented with a draft national policy
on internal displacement aligned with the Guiding Principles and the Kampala Convention in 2011. Eight years
later, however, it is still to be adopted.73 Designing andimplementing policies to reduce people’s vulnerability
and exposure to displacement and address the needsof those already displaced must be a priority for thegovernment.