This short film shows Crisis Group's research on he Gaitanista Self-Defence Force, or Gulf Clan (Colombia’s largest and richest armed and criminal group). In it, communities living areas with strong presence of the group explain what armed control means for daily life.

In Colombia, deforestation is often linked to conflict. The peace deal between the government and the FARC guerrillas included promises to safeguard the country’s jungles.

But when the FARC laid down their weapons at the end of 2014, other armed groups moved into the vacuum, accelerating forest loss in nature reserves by encouraging cattle ranching, coca farming and other unregulated businesses. Meanwhile, victims of the war, displaced from their land, also contribute to the cutting of forests as they seek new means of survival.

In 2022, the impeachment of Peruvian President Pedro Castillo after his effort to dissolve Congress and grab power sparked massive protests across the country, marked by violent clashes and a death toll exceeding 45. Vice President Dina Boluarte assumed office, forming a coalition with right-wing forces.

While stability appears to have returned to Peru today, distrust of the political system and pent-up grievances over inequality and poor public services persist, especially in regions like Puno, where Indigenous communities led the protests. Reforms aimed at making politics more representative and broad-based platforms for dialogue between social groups will be crucial to avert a new crisis.

2020 was the deadliest year in the Sahel since the jihadist crisis broke out in 2012.

As the leaders of France and five Sahel countries meet at the G5 Sahel Summit to discuss the way forward, Crisis Group proposes a new approach focusing on governance reforms and political dialogue with communities and insurgents.

The Russia-Georgia war took place in 2008. Russia invaded Georgia for five days in support of the breakaway region of South Ossetia. After the war, Russian forces stayed in South Ossetia and in another conflict zone - Abkhazia.

For over a decade, the Russian military has been building fences along the line between South Ossetia and Georgia proper, a process foreign observers have dubbed “borderisation”.

This video gathers testimonies from people living near the line of separation. Along the barbed-wire fence, locals have lost access to homes and farmland. Some have been detained while attempting to cross the line.

In late 2018, I visited north-east Nigeria with Crisis Group. The area had been the epicenter of the fight between Boko Haram and the Nigerian military. We travel to the regio to explore how effectively women formerly associated with the group have been rehabilitated and reintegrated back into society.

For ten years, clashes between the rebel group and the military have killed several thousand people and displaced more than two million in Nigeria alone. The Nigerian army's advance in 2015 prompted many women affiliated with the group to flee. Others were captured or rescued by soldiers and returned to internally displaced persons (IDP) camps, where they were exposed to acute marginalisation and abuse. While prejudice against women has waned, many remain ostracised and exposed to sexual abuse and economic hardship. This hostile environment is pushing a significant number to return to the insurgency.

This documentary gathers these women’s testimonies and sheds new light on the realities they face on their challenging journey back into society.