Africa in pictures: A look back at 2017

Yahya Jammeh had been ruling the tiny West African country with an iron fist for 22 years when he unexpectedly lost the 2016 presidential elections to his opponent Adama Barrow. ECOWAS troops were sent to Gambia to convince Jammeh to accept his defeat and step down. In January 2017, he finally left for exile in Equatorial Guinea, but not before plundering the country's state coffers.

Joseph Kony, head of the brutal "Lord's Resistance Army" (LRA), is wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Uganda and the US announced in April they would stop hunting Kony since the LRA had become irrelevant. The UN, however, attributes fresh kidnappings in the Democratic Republic of Congo to the LRA.

Africa's most populous nation suffered from the absence of 74-year old President Muhammadu Buhari, who was in London for medical treatment for three months. Islamist militant group Boko Haram repeatedly carried out deadly attacks in Nigeria's northeast, where millions of people depend on food aid.

Several people were killed and many more wounded after the symbolic announcement of independence of Cameroon's English-speaking region in October. International observers said at least 40 people died in the clashes. The region in the country's southwest had declared an independent state of "Ambazonia" because people in the region feel neglected by the French-speaking majority.

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta was sworn in for a second term, but opposition leader Raila Odinga refused to accept the election result. The country's Supreme Court had previously nullified the initial vote in August due to voting irregularities. The opposition then boycotted the repeat vote in October. There were clashes with dozens killed.

Runoff elections to choose a successor to Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf were postponed after two parties had launched complaints with Liberia's election commission over alleged fraud during the October polls. Those claims were then rejected, meaning the runoff between former Vice President Joseph Boakai and former soccer star George Weah can go ahead.

For the past four years, people in South Sudan, the world's youngest nation, have been suffering due to the conflict between supporters of President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar. A third of the population has been displaced from their homes. About five million people - that's half of South Sudan's population - go hungry. Arable land has been destroyed by fighting, the UN said.

A truck full of explosives detonated at a busy intersection in Somalia's capital Mogadishu in mid-October, killing hundreds of people. So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the attack which has been described as the worst in the history of the East African nation. The government blames the terror group al-Shabab for the bombing.

The West African nation has been grappling with crises for six years: First a coup, then a separatist uprising in the north followed by a jihadist insurgency. The 11,000-strong UN peace-keeping mission has repeatedly been attacked - in January, 77 soldiers were killed in the worst attack to date. Al-Qaeda-linked fighters claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing.

After 37 years in power, Zimbabwe's military put President Robert Mugabe under house arrest after he fired his deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa to install his wife as vice President. 93-year-old Mugabe then quit amid impeachment proceedings. Mnangagwa was sworn in as president, but has since disappointed those who had hoped he would include opposition members in his cabinet.

President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo has already served the two terms allowed by the country's constitution. Even though his second term finished at the end of 2016, he kept postponing new elections. They are now scheduled for the end of 2018. Police have stifled street protests and arrested demonstrators, opposition groups say.

Corruption allegations involving South African President Jacob Zuma and the wealthy Gupta family have picked up during the year. International companies were accused of having paid kickbacks in order to win government contracts. The country's economy is suffering with unemployment rates hovering around 30 percent. The fight over who gets to replace Zuma is expected to pick up steam in 2018.