Gold and oil are stoking Africa’s worst wars, report says

A ceiling damaged by shelling shrapnel at a displaced persons center in El Fasher, Sudan, in October.

Three of the most catastrophic wars in Africa today have been fuelled by a fierce competition for gold, oil and other natural resources, a new study by an African-focused research group has found.

The wars in Sudan, Congo and the Sahel region, which are now among the world’s worst humanitarian crises, have all been heavily influenced by bitter conflicts over control of key resources, according to the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, a British-based think tank.

Africa is famed for its vast stocks of resources and raw materials – including gold, diamonds, critical minerals, oil and gas – but the battles over those resources have contributed to a soaring death toll in the continent, the study says.