The Africa Governance Report The ICGLR, ECCAS, SADC and the AU play active roles in peacebuilding. One of their most significant initiatives is the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and the Region negotiated by the AU, ICGLR Secretariat and SADC, with active support from the UN. This was signed at the AU Commission in Addis Ababa in early 2013. At the behest of these organizations, an Intervention Brigade was established within its peacekeeping mission in the DRC. 5.6.3 The Horn of Africa Region This geographically strategic region covers Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan, which together with South Sudan form the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD). This region has one of the world’s highest occurrences of conflict, featuring eight clusters of distinct but interrelated conflict systems, involving (i) Eritrea and Ethiopia, (ii) Somalia, (iii) Sudan and South Sudan, (iv) South Sudan, (v) Sudan, (vi) Ethiopia, (vii) the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), and (viii) armed cattle-raiding in the border areas between Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Sudan. 5.6.4 The Sahel and Maghreb Regions The (broader) Maghreb region is composed of the countries of north, west and east Africa: Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Mauritania, Libya, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Chad and Sudan. A number of conflict systems and dynamics occur in these regions, comprising civil wars, crime and terror, and demands for democratic reforms. Another conflict dynamic is fuelled by Boko Haram and Al Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Boko Haram is particularly active in the northern Nigerian states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, bordering Cameroon and Chad. A unique characteristic of the security environment of this region has been the steady increase in the number of political conflicts and criminal activities resulting from the radicalized misuse of religion. This conflict in the region has been internationalised through the American “war on terror” and more recently, the open identification of Boko Haram with the Islamic State (IS or ISIS). The fight against Boko Haram has led to sustained and concerted efforts by the countries directly affected by its atrocities such as Benin, and other members of the AU as well as by the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC),. 5.7 Trends of African Conflict and Instability Africa’s experience with conflict has highlighted four macro-trends that require different and complex responses. First, Africa’s peace and security situation has a historical dimension since many conflicts are prolonged and intractable. Second, conflicts are increasingly taking on a regional and/or international character, with interconnected socio-economic, political, identity and criminal drivers. Agents of conflict and violence intersect, so there is need to address the problem from a regional, continental and global perspective. Third, interventions are increasingly prioritising “stabilisation” activities to the detriment of conflict prevention or of addressing deep-seated causes of the conflict and instability. Fourth, Africa is expected to provide robust conflict management skills and expertise in resolving these conflicts, even though they will continue to rely on external donors who, because of this will continue to influence the continent’s conflict management agenda.39 39Van Nieuwkerk A, 2016. “Learning lessons from Africa’s responses to conflict” in Aboagye, F (ed) A Comprehensive Review of African Conflicts and Regional Interventions. Addis Ababa: AU Commission and APSTA. Page 60 of 96