• Human rights violation-Following a military coup in 1991, a junta continues to rule through violent repression. All forms of popular organization have been ruthlessly suppressed.
• Ethnic and other conflicts-The chief conflict is between the elite, represented by the military, and the majority of civil society. Some 1,800 people were killed in early 1992 and 300 in early 1993. Fearing civil war, thousands fled to the countryside. In October 1993, the United Nations reimposed its oil and trade embargo aimed at restoring the ousted president.