Civil unrest
Argentina
On 12 April, activists demonstrated near the National Congress in Buenos Aires to denounce President Javier Milei's plans to dismiss approximately 15,000 state employees. Protesters attempted to establish a road blockade, which Milei's administration has prohibited under the new legislation, resulting in scuffles between protesters and police. Additionally, thousands of workers have been participating in a series of strikes and demonstrations to denounce several radical measures that form part of Milei’s economic reform package, including the privatisation of major industries and the restructuring of labour protections.
Terrorism
Columbia
On 11 April, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) rebels attacked a police station in Corinto Town, Cauca Department. The attack took place several days after the rebels issued a warning to civilians about possible attacks in the area in retaliation for alleged attacks by state security forces. The flare-up in hostilities follows a breakdown in peace negotiations between the Colombian government and the FARC dissident group, which resulted in the government suspending a ceasefire with the group in the Nariño, Cauca and Valle del Cauca departments. The government has since resumed military operations against the FARC rebels, and further clashes are likely in the coming weeks.
Civil Unrest
North America
The Israel-Palestine conflict continues to drive protests across North America. Campus protests at several universities in the US have been particularly prominent, and police have arrested protesters at some 12 universities across the country since 17 April. While most of the protest actions have remained peaceful, clashes have also developed between opposing groups, and between police and protesters. Beyond campus protests, on 15 April, pro-Palestine activists demonstrated in various parts of the US and Canada, heeding a global call for an economic blockade in solidarity with Palestine amid the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict. In New York City, dozens of activists blocked traffic on Brooklyn Bridge, while activists in Washington State blockaded the expressway leading to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, causing significant traffic disruptions and multiple flight delays. In Canada, approximately 100 activists blockaded a major port terminal in Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, disrupting operations for several hours. Further demonstrations seeking to cause travel and commercial disruptions are likely in the coming months as the conflict continues.
war
Israel and Iran
On 13 April, Iran launched around 300 drones and missiles towards Israel in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on 1 April, in which seven people were killed, including two Iranian commanders. Israel's Iron Dome defence system, assisted by the US, UK, France and Jordan, intercepted most of the missiles, and only a few projectiles got through, causing minor property damage to the Nevatim Air Force military base in southern Israel. On 19 April, Israel responded by striking an Iranian military base in Isfahan Province. In the days that followed, both sides downplayed the latest Israeli response, with Iran stating that its defence systems intercepted all suspicious objects, and no damage was caused. Nevertheless, this marks the first direct military confrontation between the two countries, and has substantially elevated tensions in the region.
War
Syria and Iraq
On 21 and 22 April, Iraq-based militants fired five rockets towards a military base in Rmelan in northeast Syria, and launched two drones towards the Ain Al Asad air base in Al Anbar Governorate in Iraq. Both targeted facilities house US troops, although no US soldiers were injured in the attacks. While militia groups suspended attacks targeting US troops following the deaths of three US soldiers at a military base in Jordan on 29 January, at least one militia, Kataib Hezbollah, recently expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of progress in talks over the US’s proposed exit from Iraq. No group officially claimed responsibility for the attacks in April; however, the incidents signal a demonstrated intent by suspected Iranian-backed militant groups to resume operations against the US in the region. Any resumption in attacks against the US presence in Iraq and Syria is likely to further raise regional tensions in the coming weeks.
Terrorism
Pakistan
On 18 April, armed militants attacked a convoy transporting five Japanese nationals in Landhi, Karachi. Two militants, one of whom detonated a suicide vest, were killed and three bystanders were injured in the incident. The incident comes as Pakistan is experiencing a resurgence in militancy since 2021, with violence driven by various groups whose operations are concentrated in the western provinces bordering Afghanistan. In 2023, terror attacks resulted in 989 fatalities in the country, up by more than 60 percent from a year prior; the frequency of attacks in recent months indicates that this uptick in terrorist activity has continued in 2024.
War
Ethiopia
In February, renewed fighting between Tigray and Amhara regional militia broke out in the Southern Tigray Zone, a disputed area between the two regions. The area is officially part of the Tigray Region, but Amhara forces – which fought alongside the federal army – seized control over it during the war in Tigray (2020-2022), and they have refused to withdraw from the area over the past two years, as required under the Pretoria Peace Deal. Amid the absence of federal government mediation efforts and the increase in weapons stockpiles in the regions following the war, the recent series of clashes between rival militia in Southern Tigray Zone increases the risk of a resurgence in the conflict in Ethiopia.
terrorism
Mozambique
In February and March, there was an uptick in attacks by the Islamic State-affiliated Al Sunnah militant group in Cabo Delgado, resulting in the displacement of over 100,000 people in the southern part of the province. Although Rwandan and Southern African Development Community Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) forces have dislodged militants from some of their positions in northern Cabo Delgado since 2021, the recent increase in attacks indicates that Al Sunnah remains a threat, which raises concerns about the feasibility of SAMIM’s plans to withdraw its troops from the region by the end of June 2024.
Sabotage
Germany
On 26 March, unknown assailants attacked Turkey's Consulate General building in Hanover, causing minor property damage. Turkish authorities blamed the incident on local sympathisers with Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê (PKK), a Kurdish militant group which is designated as a terror group by Turkey, the US and the EU, among others. However, the attack was likely carried out in relation to elevated tensions between local ethnic Turk and ethnic Kurd communities, following violent disputes over Kurds’ recent Nowruz ('New Year') celebrations, which Turks are typically opposed to. There is no precedent for further violence targeted at Turkish diplomatic institutions in the country.
civil unrest
Georgia
In April, tens of thousands of activists demonstrated in several major cities to denounce the ruling party’s proposal to reintroduce legislation requiring organisations that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as ‘foreign agents’. Critics of the bill argue that it is part of a government ploy to stifle independent media and dissent in the country. Demonstrations took place in Tbilisi, Kutaisi and Batumi, prompting significant traffic disruptions in the urban centres. Riot police dispersed protesters, and arrested dozens of activists.
