| ACLED | Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project |
| AMU | Arab Maghreb Union |
| ANN | Average nearest neighbour |
| AQIM | Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb |
| CAR | Central African Republic |
| CC | Conflict concentration |
| CEMOC | Joint Operational Staff Committee |
| CEN-SAD | Community of Sahel-Saharan States |
| CI | Conflict intensity |
| CILSS | Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel |
| CJTF | Civilian Joint Task Force |
| COS | French Special Operations Command |
| CSJF | Chad-Sudan Joint Force |
| DRC | Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| ECCAS | Economic Community of Central African States |
| ECOMOG | Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group |
| ECOWAS | Economic Community of West African States |
| ESRI | Environmental Systems Research Institute |
| EU | European Union |
| EUCAP | European Union Capacity Building |
| EUSR | European Union Special Representative |
| EUTM | European Union Training Mission |
| FACT | Front for Change and Concord in Chad |
| FAMa | Malian Armed Forces |
| FATA | Federally Administered Tribal Areas |
| FC-G5S | Framework of the G5 Sahel Joint Force |
| FUC | United Front for Change |
| GATIA | Imghad Tuareg Self-Defense Group and Allies |
| G5S | G5 Sahel |
| GIA | Armed Islamic Group |
| GIS | Geographic information science |
| GNA | Government of National Accord |
| GROADS | Global Roads Open Access Data Set |
| GSPC | Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat |
| ICJ | International Court of Justice |
| IDPs | Internally displaced persons |
| IEDs | Improvised explosive devices |
| IFRI | French Institute of International Relations |
| ISGS | Islamic State in the Greater Sahara |
| ISWAP | Islamic State West Africa Province |
| JEM | Justice and Equality Movement |
| JNIM | Jama‘at Nusrat al-Islam wa-l-Muslimin (Group for Supporting Islam and Muslims) |
| LCBC | Lake Chad Basin Commission |
| LNA | Libyan National Army |
| LRA | Lord’s Resistance Army |
| LURD | Liberian United for Reconciliation and Democracy |
| MINUSMA | Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali |
| MISAHEL | African Union Mission for Mali and the Sahel |
| MNJTF | Multinational Joint Task Force |
| MNLA | National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad |
| MODEL | Movement for Democracy in Liberia |
| MONUC | United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| MONUSCO | United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| MSA | Movement for the Salvation of Azawad |
| MUJAO | Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa |
| NASA | National Aeronautics and Space Administration |
| NATO | North Atlantic Treaty Organization |
| NGO | Non-governmental organisation |
| NPFL | National Patriotic Front of Liberia |
| OECD | Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development |
| OSM | OpenStreetMap |
| PFLP | Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine |
| PIP | Priority Investment Programme |
| RPF | Rwandan Patriotic Front |
| RUF | Revolutionary United Front |
| SCDi | Spatial Conflict Dynamics indicator |
| SLM | Sudan Liberation Movement |
| SPLA | Sudan People’s Liberation Army |
| SRTM | Shuttle Radar Topography Mission |
| SWAC | Sahel and West Africa Club |
| UEMOA | West African Economic and Monetary Union |
| UFDD | Union of Forces for Democracy and Development |
| UFL | Fusion and Liaison Unit |
| ULIMO | United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy |
| ULRI | Light reconnaissance and intervention units |
| UN | United Nations |
| UNDP | United Nations Development Programme |
| UNMIS | United Nations Mission in the Sudan |
| URF | Union of Resistance Forces |
Borders and Conflicts in North and West Africa
