The Other Wars We Are Failing To Notice

EVER before have there been so many armed conflicts across the globe.

- KAJAL BASU

According to the Global Peace Index 2024, the number of countries with conflicts is the most since the Second World War. They have become more international with 92 countries involved in "conflicts outside their borders", though not necessarily involved in them militarily.

The Uppsala Conflict Data Programme reveals that the number of states experiencing armed conflicts was 56 in 2020 and 59 in 2024. In 2023, four armed conflicts were categorized as 'major' (with 10,000 or more fatalities in the year): Myanmar civil war, Sudan civil war, Israeli genocide in Palestine and Ukraine-Russia war. The number of 'high-intensity armed conflicts' (1,000-9,999 fatalities) increased from 17 in 2022 to 20 in 2023.

In January 2024, 10 countries had extreme levels of conflict: Myanmar, Syria, Palestine, Mexico, Nigeria, Brazil, Colombia, Haiti, Yemen and Sudan. By July, 10 more countries joined them: Palestine, Myanmar, Syria, Mexico, Nigeria, Colombia, Brazil, Sudan, Cameroon and Pakistan.

The escalation is obvious. In 2019, Ukraine and Gaza were categorized 'minor conflicts'. By 2023, both wars were drivers of data on hostilities.

According to the Geneva Academy's Rule of Law in Armed Conflict portal, the ongoing conflicts are in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), with more than 45 armed conflicts in Israel, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, Yemen, Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, Libya, Morocco and Western Sahara.