In January 2015, the Congolese army launched the Sokola II operations against the Rwandan rebel group FDLR. In this blog, Juvénal Twaibu discusses the effects of these operations in the southern part of South Kivu—Fizi, Uvira and Mwenga territories. Sustaining…
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The eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is home to dozens of armed groups. Studying these groups and the way they affect local governance and conflict dynamics is challenging. How can we gather reliable data on these groups? And…
In this blog, Claude Iguma analyses the rumours and events surrounding an attack by an armed group on the gold mining site of Misisi in Fizi, South Kivu. These rumours, resulting from uncertainties about the perpetrators and their motives,…
Due to operational reasons beyond RVI’s control, this year’s annual Field Courses will now be held in Entebbe, Uganda rather than Ethiopia. Entebbe was the location of the first Great Lakes Course in 2010. RVI is excited to be…
Ce blog analyse les raisons pour lesquelles certains politiciens se donnent à s’ingérer dans les conflits autour du pouvoir coutumier, un phénomène en recrudescence dans les deux provinces du Kivu. Il soutient que les chefs coutumiers ne doivent pas…
Tafari Wossen, an Ethiopian journalist and former civil servant, is the founding editor of the Seven-Day Update, a weekly news review published in Addis Ababa. This memoir of his childhood in the province of Waag was presented at the…
Tafari Wossen, one of the founding Fellows of the Rift Valley Institute, died in Washington DC in June 2016, at the age of 76, after a long illness. A former civil servant, he was a veteran of the Ethiopian…
JUBA, South Sudan — Fighting between competing factions of South Sudan’s government in its capital left the world’s youngest country teetering on Saturday, the fifth anniversary of its independence. The government reported dozens of casualties, and there were unconfirmed…
This blog post was written by Jason Stearns and Yolande Bouka, the Co-Directors of Studies for the Rift Valley Institute’s Great Lakes Field Course, which will be taking place in Entebbe, Uganda from 11–17 June 2016. Jason and Yolande…
This blog post was written by Douglas Johnson and Guma Kunda Komey, the Co-Directors of Studies for the Rift Valley Institute’s Sudan and South Sudan Course, which will be taking place in Entebbe, Uganda from 25 June – 1 July…
Recent Publications

CONFLICT TRENDS IN GAMBELLA STATE (2018-2024)
February 27, 2025
Since 2018, Gambella has experienced several conflicts. While some can be categorized as a continuation of protracted conflicts in the region, others can be attributed to the post-2018 political changes in Addis Ababa. The major conflicts include, Anywaa–Nuer conflict, the

Why South Sudan’s Unity State is drowning in pollution
February 27, 2025
This blog is part of the XCEPT project carried out by the Rift Valley Institute between May and June 2024. In this blog, the researcher draws heavily on his data from field observation and conversations with the respondents during the

የሐዋሳ ከተማ ውዝግቦችና ተለዋዋጭ ገፅታዎቻቸው
February 27, 2025
በኢትዮጵያ ከተሞች የሚታዩ ውዝግቦችን ማጥናት፣ ከአዲስ አበባ ውጪ ያሉ የከተማ ማዕከላት የሚስተዋሉ ጉልህ ማኅበራዊ፣ ኢኮኖሚያዊ እና ፖለቲካዊ ለውጦች ምን ዓይነት መልክ እንዳላቸው ለመገንዘብ ይረዳል። በዚህ ረገድ በቅርቡ የተመሠረተው የሲዳማ ክልል ርዕሰ መዲና በሆነችው የቀድሞ የደቡብ ክልል ዋና ከተማ ሐዋሳ ላለፉት