African Union

=== Military ===
{{See also|List of African Union military interventions}}
The African Union has the power to militarily intervene on behalf of its member states as laid out in Article 4(h) of the [[Constitutive Act of the African Union]], "in respect of grave circumstances, namely: war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity."<ref>"Constitutive Act of the African Union," opened for signature 11 July 2000. Organisation for African Unity. https://au.int/sites/default/files/pages/34873-file-constitutiveact_en.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200415235637/https://au.int/sites/default/files/pages/34873-file-constitutiveact_en.pdf |date=15 April 2020 }}.</ref>

==== Togo ====
In response to the death of [[Gnassingbé Eyadéma]], President of [[Togo]], on 5 February 2005, AU leaders described the appointment of his son, [[Faure Gnassingbé]], to the presidency to have been a [[Coup d'état|military coup]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4240485.stm |title=AU denounces Togo 'military coup' |work=BBC News |date=6 February 2005 |access-date=10 July 2006 |archive-date=15 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115094219/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4240485.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Togo's constitution calls for the speaker of parliament to succeed the president in the event of his death. By law, the parliament speaker must call national elections to choose a new president within sixty days. The AU's protest forced Gnassingbé to hold elections. Under heavy allegations of election fraud, he was officially elected president on 4 May 2005.

==== Mauritania ====
On 3 August 2005, a coup in [[Mauritania]] led the African Union to suspend the country from all organisational activities. The Military Council that took control of Mauritania promised to hold elections within two years.{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}}<ref>{{Cite journal|last=N'Diaye|first=Boubacar|date=2009|title=To 'Midwife' - and Abort - a Democracy: Mauritania's Transition from Military Rule, 2005-2008|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/30224926|journal=The Journal of Modern African Studies|volume=47|issue=1|pages=129–152|doi=10.1017/S0022278X08003765|jstor=30224926|s2cid=154877577|issn=0022-278X|access-date=18 May 2021|archive-date=18 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518110815/https://www.jstor.org/stable/30224926|url-status=live}}</ref> These were held in early 2007, the first time that the country had held elections that were generally agreed to be of an acceptable standard. Following the elections, Mauritania's membership of the AU was restored. However, on 6 August 2008, a fresh coup overthrew the government elected in 2007. The AU once again suspended Mauritania from the continental body.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/node/14105592 |title=All is rather easily forgiven |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |date=23 July 2009 |access-date=15 July 2011 |archive-date=21 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120221194243/http://www.economist.com/node/14105592 |url-status=live }}</ref> The suspension was once again lifted in 2009 after the military junta agreed with the opposition to organise elections.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mauritania-sanctions/african-union-lifts-sanctions-on-mauritania-idUSTRE56021Z20090701 |title=African Union lifts sanctions on Mauritania |work=[[Reuters]] |date=1 July 2009 |access-date=3 December 2017 |archive-date=4 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171204171128/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mauritania-sanctions/african-union-lifts-sanctions-on-mauritania-idUSTRE56021Z20090701 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Mali ====
[[File:GSPC map.png|thumb|[[Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb]] (formerly [[Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat|GSPC]]) area of operations]]
In March 2012, a military coup was staged in Mali, when an alliance of Touareg and Islamist forces conquered the north, resulting in a coming to power of the Islamists. This resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Malian soldiers and the loss of control over their camps and positions.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dixon |first1=Robyn |last2=Labous |first2=Jane |title=Gains of Mali's Tuareg rebels appear permanent, analysts say |url=https://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/04/world/la-fg-mali-tuaregs-20120404 |website=Los Angeles Times |date=4 April 2012 |access-date=4 September 2018 |archive-date=10 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910090629/http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/04/world/la-fg-mali-tuaregs-20120404 |url-status=live }}</ref> After a military intervention with help from French troops, the region was in control of the Malian army. To reinstall local authorities, the AU helped to form a caretaker government, supporting it and holding presidential elections in Mali in July 2013.<ref name="dandc.eu">Bernadette Schulz, Ruth Langer, [http://www.dandc.eu/en/article/african-peace-and-security-architecture-already-proving-useful-even-though-it-still-work "Peace missions – The long haul"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718202114/http://www.dandc.eu/en/article/african-peace-and-security-architecture-already-proving-useful-even-though-it-still-work |date=18 July 2014 }}, D+C, 27 August 2013.</ref>

In 2013, a summit for the African Union was held and it was decided that the African Union was going to enlarge their military presence in Mali. The AU decided to do this because of increasing tensions between al-Qaeda forces and the Mali army. There have been several rebel groups that are vying for control of parts of Mali. These rebel groups include the [[National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad|National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA)]], the National Front for the Liberation of Azawad (FLNA), Ganda Koy, Ganda Izo, [[Ansar al-Din Front|Ansar ad-Din]], and [[Al-Qaeda]] in the [[Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb|Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)]]. AU forces have been tasked with counterinsurgency missions in Mali as well as governing presidential elections to ensure as smooth a transition of power as possible.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Besancon |first1=Marie |last2=Dalzell |first2=Stephen |date=June 2014 |title=The Soldier and the Street: East African CIMIC in Somalia and Beyond. |journal=PRISM Security Studies Journal |volume=5 |pages=117–135 }}</ref>

==== 2021 hotspots ====
A disputed election in December 2020 has led to intensification of the [[Central African Republic Civil War]], displacing 200,000 people. United Nations peacekeepers, including soldiers from Russia and Rwanda, have kept the rebels out of [[Bangui]], but rebels control much of the rest of the country. The AU has not sent peacekeepers to the areas because of a lack of agreement on how to handle the situation: [[Chad]] and the [[Republic of the Congo]] support the rebels while [[Rwanda]] and [[Angola]] support the government.<ref name="2021_priorities"/>

The [[Tigray War]] in Ethiopia has left millions in need of humanitarian aid. Eritrean troops are said to be supporting the Ethiopian government, and there have been border conflicts with Sudan. The relationship between Sudan and Ethiopia is further complicated by the [[Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam]] project, which also directly affects Egypt.<ref name="2021_priorities"/>

===== Coup Belt =====
[[File:Coup belt.svg|200px|thumb|(Map of successful coups in Africa since 2020)]]

The term [[Coup Belt]] originated from coups that were staged beginning in the early 2020s, including in [[Mali]] in [[2020 Malian coup d'état|2020]] and [[2021 Malian coup d'état|2021]], [[2021 Guinean coup d'état|Guinea]], [[Mahamat Déby#President of the Transitional Military Council|Chad]], and [[2021 Sudan coup d'état|Sudan]] in 2021, two in [[Burkina Faso]] in [[January 2022 Burkina Faso coup d'état|January]] and [[September 2022 Burkina Faso coup d'état|September]] in 2022, and [[Niger]] and [[Gabon]] in 2023. The region also saw attempted coups in [[2021 Nigerien coup d'état attempt|Niger]] and [[September 2021 Sudanese coup d'état attempt|Sudan]] in 2021, [[2022 Guinea-Bissau coup d'état attempt|Guinea–Bissau]] and [[2022 Gambian coup d'état attempt|The Gambia]] in 2022, and [[2023 Sudan conflict|Sudan]] and [[2023 Sierra Leone coup plot|Sierra Leone]] in 2023. After the 2023 Nigerien coup, these countries formed a continuous chain stretching between the east and west coasts of Africa.