Oslo (agencies)
In 2023, the world will witness the largest number of armed conflicts since 1946, but the number of countries that suffered from these conflicts has decreased, according to a Norwegian study published yesterday. A report published by the Oslo Peace Research Institute stated that last year, 59 conflicts were recorded in the world, almost half of them (28) in Africa.
But the number of countries witnessing conflicts decreased from 39 in 2022 to 34 countries, and the number of deaths due to fighting decreased by half (about 122 thousand), according to data collected by Sweden’s Uppsala University from international organizations and non-governmental organizations. This number is the third highest since 1989, due to the Ukraine war and the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
“Violence in the world has never been this high since the end of the Cold War,” said Siri As Rustad, a researcher at BRIO and the main co-author of the report, which covers the period between 1946 and 2023.
She emphasized that “the numbers indicate that the conflict arena has become more complex, with a greater number of warring parties involved in the same country.”
The rise in the number of conflicts is due in part to ISIS, which has spread across Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and to the participation of a growing number of non-government parties linked to Al-Qaeda, according to the institute.
While the number of deaths during battles decreased last year, the total number for the past three years is the highest in the past three decades. After Africa, the regions of the world most affected by armed conflicts were Asia (17 conflicts), followed by the Middle East (10), then Europe (3) conflicts, and the Americas (1 conflict).
#Armed #conflicts #numerous
