Violence between farmers and herders kills over 1,000 people in 2014 in Nigeria alone, according to Human Rights Watch. At the root of this violence is the issue of access to land and water resources.
Kitwe’s Wusakile and Chamboli townships experience riots over erratic water supply. Residents engage police in skirmishes and eight people are arrested.
At least four people are killed in South Africa during protests over water shortages in the northern town of Brits.
Continued sectarian violence in the Central African Republic between Muslim and Christian militias includes reports of Muslim civilians being killed and their bodies thrown down water wells.
In Nigeria, Tiv/Agatu farmers and Fulanis herdsmen clash over access to grazing land and water points. In April 2014, President Goodluck Jonathan orders military operations in Benue, Nasarawa, and Plateau states in an effort to reduce the violence.
Clashes continue between pastoralists and farmers over access to water and grazing lands in the face of severe drought. Water shortages have forced the herders to move to farmers’ land for grazing, leading to clashes.
Dozens are killed in clan-related violence in Somalia’s Hiran region. Sources say the violence is related to tensions over access to water and pasture, as well as local politics.
Two wells are attacked by militia thought to be part of Al-Shaabab.
A guard at water wells in the Um Burma area, Sudan is attacked and severely injured by paramilitaries.
Environmental activist and opposition leader Sikhosiphi Radebe in South Africa is murdered after opposing industrial mining development that threatened community water and land.