This page covers Africa from the Mediterranean coast south to the Congo basin. There are no strongholds here. The big coastal cities are dead. People survive in small walled settlements in the mountains, at desert oases, on islands and on rivers. Heat and dry air turn the dead into brittle Husk Zombies in the north. In the wet south, the dead stay whole.
Sahara and Sahel. Hot dry air dries zombies into Husk Zombies. They stand still in the sand until a noise wakes them. There are few of them, but water is the real danger. Wells are far apart, and raiders hold many of them.
Wet coast and jungle. The dead do not dry out. Heat and damp swell some into Bloater Zombies. Stalker Zombies climb in the trees and on the roofs.
Water. Zombies cannot swim. Islands, stilt villages and boats are the safest homes. Shallow lakes and lagoons are not safe, because the dead walk along the bottom.
Casablanca, Marrakesh and Fez are dead cities. Amazigh villages in the High Atlas survive behind stone walls, and Imlil Village under Mount Toubkal is the best known. Winter snow closes the passes and freezes the dead. In Rabat, about 900 people live in Udayas Kasbah, an old fort at the river mouth. Western Sahara is empty desert. Laayoune survives at its fishing port, where the Salt Fleet stops. The Bou Craa Conveyor is a 100 kilometer steel belt across the sand that scavengers strip for metal.
Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli are dead cities. The worst place in Algiers is the Casbah, the old hill quarter, where a horde fills the lanes. In the desert, raiders hold the wells at In Salah and sell water. In southern Tunisia, people live in the pit homes at Matmata. Libya is almost all desert. Its giant water pipeline stopped when the power failed, and gangs fight over the old pump stations. Ghadames Oasis, near the Algerian border, has a spring that never dried up and is the one safe town in the Libyan desert. Militia depots in Tripoli still hold guns, but Armored Zombies guard them.
The Sahel is dry grass and thorn trees south of the Sahara. Bamako, Ouagadougou and Ndjamena are dead cities full of Husk Zombies. The Niger River keeps people alive. At Niamey, about 3,000 people live on river islands. In the Mali inner delta, the mud town of Djenne becomes an island every flood season. Salt caravans still cross the desert from the Taoudenni salt mines. In Niger, a line of refugee trucks from 2035 is now the Tenere Husk Field, thousands of dried zombies standing in the sand. Lake Chad feeds many fishing villages, but it is shallow, so the dead can wade across it. Herders trade at Dori Cattle Market in Burkina Faso.
Nouakchott is half buried by sand, and its survivors live at the fishing beach. Dakar is a dead city. The island of Goree, 3 kilometers offshore, is safe and is the main Salt Fleet trade post in West Africa. Salt from Lac Rose, the pink lake, is traded along the coast. Banjul is a small safe town on an island at the mouth of the Gambia River. Upriver, a raider gang charges a toll at Farafenni Bridge. The Bijagos Islands off Guinea-Bissau were cleared early, and Bubaque Harbor is their main port.
Conakry, Freetown and Monrovia are dead cities. Survivors went inland. The Fouta Djallon highlands in Guinea are cool and well watered, and farm villages there feed the coast. In Sierra Leone, a raider gang forces captives to dig at the Koidu Diamond Pits. In Liberia, about 1,200 people run Harbel Rubber Farm and trade rubber along the coast. Rain from May to October floods most roads.
Abidjan, Accra and Lomé are dead cities. In Abidjan, fishing families live on boats in the Ebrie Lagoon. A horde fills the huge Yamoussoukro Basilica. In Ghana, a crew keeps one turbine running at Akosombo Dam and lights a small town. The old Cape Coast Castle on the coast is a walled fishing town. In Benin, Ganvie Stilt Village stands in Lake Nokoue, a town of houses on stilts.
Nigeria had over 250 million people in 2035, more than any other country in Africa, and now it has the most zombies. Lagos was the largest city in Africa, and Lagos Island Ruins hold the largest hordes on the continent. Kano, Ibadan, Port Harcourt and Abuja are dead too. Hordes drift between the cities along the highways. Walled farm villages survive in between. In the Niger Delta, raiders cook stolen crude oil into rough fuel at Delta Bush Refinery. A small camp lives on top of Aso Rock above Abuja.
Yaoundé, Douala and Libreville are dead cities. The rich slopes of Mount Cameroon feed the tea and banana villages at Mount Cameroon Farms. Bioko island, in Equatorial Guinea, was cleared and kept clean. Malabo Harbor is a Salt Fleet stop, and Cape Wall ships come north to trade there. On the mainland, the unfinished capital Ciudad de la Paz stands empty in the jungle. Gabon is almost all rain forest, and the rangers at Lope Ranger Station guide travelers.
Kinshasa had 17 million people and is now the biggest dead city in Africa after Lagos. Martyrs Stadium Nest in Kinshasa is the largest horde nest in Central Africa. Brazzaville, across the river, is dead too. The Congo River is the only real road. At Mbandaka, about 4,000 people live on barges lashed together in mid-river. The Congo Jungles are the hardest land to cross, with no roads and rain every day. Lomami Hunting Camp is the one place to hire a guide. In the south, the Congo Headwaters are old mining country, and raiders dig copper at Kolwezi Copper Pits. Bangui, in the Central African Republic, survives on a river island.
Gitega, in the Burundi highlands, is a small walled town of about 3,000 people. It fell slowly because it is high and far from the big airports. Farmers bring food to Gitega Hill Market.
Sea. The Salt Fleet stops at Goree, Malabo, Laayoune and Rabat. It buys salt, dried fish, rubber, cashews and argan oil, and sells tools, medicine and ammunition. Captains blood test everyone.
Rivers. The Niger, Gambia, Ubangi and Congo rivers are the main roads inland. Boats are safe from the dead.
Land. Travel is on foot, by bicycle, on horses or with camels in the desert. There is almost no fuel. Raiders hold bridges, wells and mines.
Money. Credits are rare this far from the Gate Compact. Chits and Scrap work in the towns. Salt, fish and ammunition are the most common barter.