Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Mozambique Control Map: Cabo Delgado Insurgency Shifts West - February 2022 (Subscription)

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(To see other maps in this series, view all Mozambique articles on PolGeoNow.)

Map by Evan Centanni and Djordje Djukic. Timeline by Djordje Djukic, with additional reporting by Evan Centanni

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Mozambique: Cabo Delgado conflict map - February 2022: Detailed, close-up control map showing areas occupied by so-called ISIS-linked rebels in northern Mozambique (also known as Ahlu Sunnah Wa Jama, ASWJ, Ansar al-Sunnah, or Al Shabaab), plus towns and villages raided by the insurgents over the past five months (including those across the border in Tanzania. Shows major shift in insurgent activity away from Mocímboa da Praia and Palma towns, and towards Meluco and northern Mueda district, while Nangade and Macomia districts continue to be conflict hotspots.  Shows roads, rivers, and terrain, and includes key locations of the insurgency such as Naquitengue, Nachipande, Kiwengulo, Nankidunga, 5º Congresso, Nankidunga, the Total LNG site and natural gas fields, and many more towns and villages. Colorblind accessible.
After being driven from the key northeastern towns of Palma and Mocímboa da Praia by Rwandan-led forces, Mozambique's insurgents have dispersed westward as far as Meluco and Mueda districts, as well as the neighboring province of Niassa. Meanwhile, they've also increased cross-border raids into Tanzania.
 
See all this and more on the newest update to PolGeoNow's Mozambique territorial control map report, which includes a timeline of changes and important events since our previous Cabo Delgado map report at the end of last August. While the main map is focused in on Cabo Delgado province, events in Niassa province are labelled on a supplementary full-country map included in the report.

This map and report are premium content, available to paid subscribers of the PolGeoNow Conflict Mapping Service.

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Exclusive map report includes:

  • Detailed illustration of approximate current territorial control in Mozambique's Cabo Delgado province, color-coded for insurgents affiliated with the so-called "Islamic State" (ISIS/ISIL) vs. the Mozambican government and allies (including Rwandan and the SADC's SAMIM troops). Colorblind accessible. 
  • Detailed indication of city-by-city control status, including for many relevant smaller towns and villages.
  • Detailed indication of which towns and villages have subject to insurgent raids or pro-government military operations since the end of August 2021, including sites across the border in Tanzania.
  • Contextual details including district boundaries, rivers, major roads, and terrain.
  • Sites of international economic interest: Total's suspended LNG site, offshore natural gas fields, and Montepuez ruby mine.
  • Key locations from the news, including Ngapa, Nova Zambezia, Chitoio, Quinto Congresso, Nambungali, and many more.
  • Supplementary map showing the insurgency's location within Mozambique as a whole, also labeling towns in Niassa province that have come under attack, such as Mecula, Naulala, and Chimene.
  • Accompanying article with detailed timeline of territorial control changes and key political and military developments since late July, with sources cited. 

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Thursday, February 10, 2022

Mandatory Attendance: Why is North Korea the only country suspended from the Olympics for not participating?

Map of North and South Korea, located on a single peninsula, with Japan across a sea straight to the southeast of South Korea, and North Korea sharing land borders with China and a small strip of Russia.
Location of North Korea and neighboring countries. Map by Johannes Barre & Patrick Mannion (CC BY-SA) (source)
North Korea Banned from 2022 Winter Olympics

As readers of our updated Parade of Nations feature know, this year's Winter Olympics in Beijing are missing one of the usual teams: North Korea. In fact, North Korea wasn't even allowed to attend. 

That's because last year the country's Olympic committee chose not to attend the Summer Olympics in Tokyo - out of what it insisted were COVID-19 concerns - and as punishment, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspended it from participation for all of 2022.*

Wait...what? There's a punishment for not attending the Olympics? And that punishment is...not being allowed to attend the Olympics? Then why has this never happened before? If those are the questions you're asking yourself, you're not alone.

We had even more questions, but we couldn't find the answers anywhere in news reporting, official websites, or even Wikipedia - so we went deeper. To find out what we learned, keep reading for the whole story, or skip to the bottom for a bullet-point summary.

Thursday, February 3, 2022

Parade of Nations: Which Countries Are (and Aren't) in the Olympics? (Beijing 2022)

This is an older version of our Parade of Nations article. Click here to see the newest edition!  

This is an updated version of an article first published in 2012. To see previous versions, view all Olympics articles on PolGeoNow.


World map showing the five continental associations of National Olympic Committees, including all nations eligible for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games.
Map of all countries in the Olympics and their regional associations. By Evan Centanni, modeled after this map.


After the delay to the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games, the Olympics are back on schedule! The 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China officially open tomorrow, February 4th. They'll be the second Olympics hosted by China, after the 2008 Summer Games, and will even use some of the same facilities. 

These are the third Olympics in a row to be held in East Asia, after PyeongChang 2018 and Tokyo 2020 (actually held in 2021) and only the fourth-ever Winter Olympics to be held outside of Europe and North America, following the 1972 and 1998 games hosted in Japan and the 2018 PyeongChang games in South Korea.

Of course, it wouldn't be an Olympic opening ceremony without the Parade of Nations. But how many countries are there in the games, and is everyone included? Read on for PolGeoNow's updated guide to the roster of Olympic Nations...

Friday, January 28, 2022

Yemen Control Map & Report: Houthis on the Backstep - January 2022 (Subscription)

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There are newer versions of this map available. To see them, view all Yemen articles on PolGeoNow.

Timeline by Djordje Djukic. Map by Evan Centanni, Djordje Djukic, and onestopmap.com

Map of what's happening in Yemen as of January 2022, including territorial control for the unrecognized Houthi government, president-in-exile Hadi and his allies in the Saudi-led coalition, and the UAE-backed southern separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC), plus major areas of operations of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Includes recent locations of fighting and other events, including Balaq al-Sharqi, Usaylan, Harib, Yatmah, Batr, and many more.
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Yemen's internationally-recognized Hadi government has won a bit of breathing room in recent weeks, rolling back a swath of Houthi territory south of Marib, though Houthi forces still retain a foothold at the city's doorstep.

See all this and more on the newest update to PolGeoNow's Yemen territorial control map, which includes a timeline of changes and important events since our previous Yemen map report in November.

This map and report are premium content available to paid subscribers of the PolGeoNow Conflict Mapping Service.

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Exclusive report includes:
  • Up-to-date map of current territorial control in Yemen, color-coded for the pro-Hadi coalition, the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC), Houthi forces, and major presence of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
  • Detailed indication of town-by-town control, including provincial boundaries, all major cities, and many smaller ones
  • Markers for recent areas of fighting, including Balaq al-Sharqi, Usaylan, Harib, Batr, and many more
  • Timeline of changes to the situation since November 30, 2021, with links to sources 

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Tuesday, January 25, 2022

Ethiopia War Map: Tigray Rebel Advance on Capital & Control Today (Nov. 2021/Jan. 2022)

(There are newer versions of this map available. To see them, view all Ethiopia articles on PolGeoNow.)

As a followup to the three Tigray war maps we've published as guest features from Daniel of Passport Party, PolGeoNow is pleased to present our new in-house map of control in Ethiopia's ongoing civil war. The new map shows Tigray rebel control both today and at its greatest extent last November, while also highlighting a second insurgency by allied rebel group the Oromo Liberation Army.

Ethiopia war map for late 2021 and early 2022, showing Tigray rebel control both at its height in November 2021, extending far down into Amhara state and near national capital Addis Ababa, and at present day (January 24, 2022). Also indicates areas claimed to be controlled by the Oromo Liberation Army in western and central Ethiopia. Colorblind accessible.
Map by Evan Centanni and Djordje Djukic. Terrain data sourced from ViewFinderPanoramas.
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Timeline by Djordje Djukic, with additional reporting by Evan Centanni

Rebel Advance on Addis Ababa - and Subsequent Retreat

In the five months since our previous report on Ethiopia's civil war, Tigray rebels expanded their control far south of their home state's borders, nearly reaching the national capital city of Addis Ababa. However, despite assistance from another Ethiopian rebel group, their gains were eventually reversed, with Ethiopian federal government forces and allies pushing them back within the boundaries of Tigray state. Now, the situation has almost returned to the same place it was when the war began, with Tigray largely controlled by rebels associated with its former state government, while neighboring Amhara state controls its own territory plus a section of western Tigray.