A new report has shown that the number of military takeovers and armed conflicts in African countries have increased while democracy in the continent has fallen over ten years.

According to the Mo Ibrahim Foundation’s index of governance, since 2012 there have been 23 attempted and successful coups, posing a threat to the democracy and peace that the continent has long enjoyed.

“This phenomenon of coup d’etats that was common in the ’80s seems to have become fashionable again in certain parts of Africa,” said Mo Ibrahim, founder and chairman of the foundation.

The foundation stressed that there have been eight coups in Africa since 2019. Mali and Burkina Faso alone have had four coups combined to overthrow their leaders.

The report said over 30 nations were experiencing security challenges and that the respect for the rule of law has declined.

The analysis asserted that government brutality against dissenting voices has increased across Africa ever since the outbreak of the Coronavirus.

“Although this trend predates the pandemic, existing antidemocratic tendencies have been accelerated by the introduction of restrictive measures and emergency provisions that have been left in place for an extended time period,” the report said.

South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, Congo, Sudan, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Burundi, Libya and Equatorial Guinea ranked at the bottom of the index.