Africa embraces more than a thou-sand ethnic groups and languages lumped crudely together by colonial mapmakers. So it is surprising that bids for secession have become rare. The African Union (au), like its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity, frowns on the idea, since so many countries are artificial affairs where tribal loyalties often trump national ones. Separatist sentiment across the continent has also dwindled as governance has improved, federalism or decentralisation have been more widely accepted and democracy has become more entrenched. And past bids for secession still make Africans quail. The Nigerian civil war (1967-70), when the south-eastern region known as Biafra sought to break off, left up to 2m dead. A similar bid by Congo's south-eastern province of Katanga in 1960 caused five years of mayhem.
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