When the man who made the Academy Award-winning film about the Holocaust, “Schindler’s List,” says his “conscience” won’t allow him to continue his involvement with the Beijing Olympics, people listen.

And that’s exactly what happened this week when Steven Spielberg stepped down from his role as artistic adviser for this summer’s Olympics in Beijing, China. The reason? China’s relationship with Darfur.

And while Spielberg’s announcement brought much-needed attention to the violence in Darfur, it was just one of several issues making major headlines about conflict on the African continent. Here’s a roundup:

Kenya

Brutal violence has swept Kenya since the beginning of the year, leaving more than 1,000 people dead, as tribes—mainly Kikuyus and Luos—have clashed over the re-election of President Mwai Kibaki. Kibaki is a Kikuyu and the opposition leader, Raila Odinga, is a Luo. Opposition groups say the election was rigged and are angry that the Kikuyus have enjoyed more political power and economic prosperity.

But the extreme violence has cut both ways with various ethnic groups stalking other ethnic groups.

 

The two main rival groups have finally agreed to sit down and talk, and President Bush is sending Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the region next week. But the shocking violence has jarred the country, once considered among the most stable and peaceful on the continent, with a thriving tourist business.

 

Chad

Meanwhile in Chad, a country in north-central Africa, rebels are besieging the government of President Idriss Deby. The unrest began in 2005 when Deby changed the country’s constitution to run for a third term but intenstified in the recent coup attempt . The rebels are supported by the government of neighboring Sudan. Chad was once a colony of France, which has sent weapons to help fight back the rebels. A state of emergency has been declared in the country as thousands of refugees have fled the capital.

The big picture

In both of these situations there seems to have been a fine line between festering tensions and all-out violence. Now, the ethnic strife in Kenya is leading to a redrawing of the country as groups move to live among their own tribes, and the unrest in Chad is adding to the misery in Darfur, which it directly borders. Meanwhile the United Nations continues to do what it can to ease the violence and unrest in Sudan, Chad and Kenya.