Definitions of War, Torture, and Terrorism in Africa

Abstract

Africa is the second largest and second most populated continent on earth (Africa Guide 2009; Miniwatts Marketing Group 2009; Sayre 2003). There are 53 countries, including the seven island countries, the total comprising close to 20 % of the world’s land area. The most common categorization divides the African continent into five subregions: Northern Africa, which lies North of the Sahara Desert, runs along the Red Sea on the east coast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and extends to the Atlantic Ocean; Western Africa, the land west of 10° east longitude; Eastern Africa, the land from the Red Sea south along the Indian Ocean to Mozambique; Central or Middle Africa, which is defined as a portion of the African continent south of the Sahara Desert, east of Western Africa, and west of the Great Rift Valley; and Southern Africa, the portion south of 10° latitude to the southern tip of the continent surrounded by the Indian Ocean to the east and the Atlantic Ocean to the west (New World Encyclopedia, Africa 2011).