A selection of Elsa Buchanan’s reporting, photo essays and communications work, drawn from field assignments and collaborations across the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Covering conflict, human rights and humanitarian issues, the work combines on-the-ground reporting with specialist analysis.
Human Impact
Stories exploring how conflict shapes daily life, from displacement and education to livelihoods, environment, and long-term recovery.
Conflict & Security
Reporting on frontlines, weapons, and military dynamics, examining how conflict is fought and sustained in complex environments.
Accountability & Rights
Investigations and reporting examining violations, legal accountability, and the human rights dimensions of conflict and crisis.
Health & Humanitarian
Reporting on healthcare, humanitarian response, and the long-term impact of conflict on communities, from emergency care to recovery and resilience.
Negotiations between Frelimo and Renamo suspended as Mozambique war escalates
As peace talks between Mozambique's government and Renamo rebels broke down, this report examined the implications of stalled negotiations amid rising violence. With clashes increasing and trust between the parties deteriorating, the article explored whether the country was moving closer to a wider conflict and what the failure of mediation efforts could mean for regional stability.
DRC: Moise Katumbi adviser warns of 'confrontations' as leader threatened with arrest if he returns
Based on exclusive interviews with senior advisers to opposition leader Moïse Katumbi, this report explores the mounting political tensions surrounding his anticipated return to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The piece examines how the government's response to opposition mobilisation could affect the country's fragile stability, highlighting the broader risks of unrest, repression and contested political transition amid an increasingly volatile electoral crisis.
DRC: Why is Moise Katumbi's presidential election candidacy so important?
This report explores the rise of opposition leader Moïse Katumbi as a key figure in the Democratic Republic of Congo's electoral crisis. Drawing on political analysis and expert commentary, the piece examines why Katumbi was viewed as a credible challenger to President Joseph Kabila, and how his candidacy shaped discussions around democratic governance, political reform and the risk of instability during a critical period in the country's history.
Congo-Brazzaville: Why is yet another African state descending into chaos?
As political tensions escalated in the Republic of Congo, this analysis examined the factors driving renewed instability in a country often overshadowed by crises elsewhere in the region. The article explored disputed elections, armed violence in the Pool region and growing fears that political confrontation could trigger a wider security crisis.
Mozambique: Will Renamo take over provinces amid rising violence and mediator presence?
Published just weeks after warnings of renewed conflict, this report examined whether Mozambique was edging closer to a political and military showdown between the government and Renamo. As violence increased and international mediation efforts intensified, the article explored Renamo's demands for greater regional control, the prospects for negotiations and the growing risk of instability across the country.
Mozambique: Towards a new war between the Frelimo government and Renamo rebels?
As tensions escalated between Mozambique's ruling Frelimo government and Renamo rebels, this analysis examined the risk that political disputes could reignite armed conflict decades after the country's civil war ended. The article explored growing violence, stalled negotiations and fears that instability could spread across a country long regarded as a post-conflict success story.
Burundi: Bujumbura lockdown amid fear of war erupting after deadly attacks on army barracks
As Bujumbura entered lockdown following coordinated attacks on military installations, this live report combined exclusive updates from sources across the Burundian capital with on-the-ground analysis of a rapidly deteriorating security situation. Reporting amid fears that the political crisis was tipping into armed conflict, the coverage tracked clashes, military deployments, civilian fears and the uncertainty gripping a city bracing for further violence.
Battle for control of the DRC: Who are the armed groups killing for land, resources, and ethnicity?
A detailed analysis of the armed groups shaping conflict dynamics in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Through expert interviews and regional research, the report explores the origins, objectives and funding networks of the militias and rebel factions driving instability, highlighting the political, ethnic and economic forces behind one of Africa's most complex security crises.
Burundi: 'You are young and must fight' - How rebel touts manipulate young men toward armed conflict
Through interviews with Burundian refugees, this investigation exposed how rebel networks targeted young men inside and around UN-run camps in Rwanda for recruitment into conflict. The reporting raised concerns among NGOs and UN actors about protection failures in sites meant to offer refuge.
Burundi: Dissidents ready for war with £4 grenades and £40 Kalashnikovs
Based on on-the-ground reporting in Bujumbura, this investigation documents how opposition groups and civilians began arming themselves amid escalating political unrest, with weapons openly circulating through informal networks. The piece reveals how access to arms and shifting loyalties contributed to the rapid deterioration toward conflict.
Burundi: Life behind the barricades after Bujumbura protests [Photo report]
A photographic journey into some of Bujumbura's most volatile neighbourhoods during Burundi's 2015 political crisis. Hidden behind makeshift barricades erected to protect residents from deadly security force raids, civilians navigated a landscape of fear, distrust and uncertainty as violence escalated following protests against President Pierre Nkurunziza's controversial third-term bid.
Burundi: Opposition activist allegedly shot in wave of violence since President Nkurunziza poll victory
Reporting from Kinama, one of Bujumbura's most volatile neighbourhoods, this exclusive story documented the aftermath of the killing of an opposition activist as Burundi's political crisis spiralled into violence. Through first-hand reporting and interviews with relatives and residents, the article examined growing fears of politically motivated attacks, impunity and the escalating human cost of President Pierre Nkurunziza's disputed third-term bid.
Burundi: President satisfied by election results but would have liked to do better, says Presidential adviser
In an exclusive interview in Bujumbura, a senior presidential adviser and spokesperson for President Pierre Nkurunziza defended the government's handling of Burundi's disputed 2015 election and mounting political crisis. Conducted as allegations of abuses by security forces and the ruling party's Imbonerakure youth wing intensified, the interview offered a rare opportunity to question one of the government's most influential voices during a pivotal moment in the country's descent into violence.
Burundi: Who are the feared Imbonerakure youth?
As Burundi's political crisis deepened, this reported analysis examined the rise of the Imbonerakure, the ruling party's powerful youth wing, and growing allegations linking its members to intimidation, violence and abuses against perceived opponents. Drawing on interviews with activists, civilians, refugees and regional observers, the story explored how a political youth movement became one of the most feared actors in Burundi's rapidly deteriorating security landscape.
Tunisia: Weapon smuggling a 'worrying development' for country that is facing rise of hard line islamist groups
Reporting on Tunisia as regional instability spread across North Africa, this story examined growing concerns over weapons trafficking, porous borders and the security implications of neighbouring Libya's collapse. Through interviews with analysts, security experts and local sources, the report explored fears that increasing arms smuggling could undermine Tunisia's fragile democratic transition and expose the country to the same forces of instability that had engulfed Libya.
Yemen: US officials maintain intelligence relationship with Houthis in al-Qaeda battle
Published at the outset of Yemen's civil war, this report examined the complex and often overlooked relationship between the United States and the Houthi movement during the fight against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Through interviews with regional analysts and officials, the article explored how counterterrorism priorities sometimes produced unexpected alliances, offering early insight into a conflict that would later reshape regional security dynamics and see the Houthis designated as a terrorist organisation by the United States.