Global Armed Conflicts and Resolution Efforts (IPS)
Instead of decreasing, armed-conflicts have been increasing around the world. From a global standpoint, the world seems to be in a perpetual state of war. Maybe this is what World War III looks like.
IPS Inter Press Service – Guns and Roses: IPS’s Reporting On Global Armed Conflicts and Resolution Efforts Feed Summary:
The Human Security Report of 2005 identified a fall in the number of armed conflicts since the end of the Cold War. But the evidence examined in the 2008 edition of the Peace and Conflict report shows that the decline has stopped. Armed conflicts — wars, civil wars, revolts, coups, genocides, ethnic and political violence, and terrorism worldwide — are flaring up across the world. Iraq, Israel and Palestine, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Darfur, South Ossetia, Colombia…the list of conflict-zones is long. And the poor, women, and children, are the hardest hit. With focus on human rights and development, IPS examines armed conflicts around the world and the efforts to stop them.
Global Armed Conflicts and Resolution Efforts (IPS) (1 - 25 of about 1260) (xml) (Feedlist)
Athar Parvaiz (18.05.2013 16:43h): Explosives Shatter Lives in Kashmir
Qadir Sheikh, a landmine victim from Warsun, laments that his handicap will mean no education for his two daughters. Credit: Athar Parvaiz/IPSAadil Khan and his two siblings had been playing as usual behind their house in the village of Diver, 110 kilometres north of Kashmir’s capital, Srinagar, when they came across what they thought was a “plaything” laying on the ground. But no sooner had they picked the object up than it literally shattered their innocent lives into pieces. Stunned by the explosion from the shell, which the children had mistaken for a toy, they cannot remember much about the ... [Link] [Cache]
Jim Lobe, Joe Hitchon (18.05.2013 02:57h): Nuclear Iran Unlikely to Tilt Regional Power Balance – Report
A nuclear-armed Iran would not pose a fundamental threat to the United States and its regional allies like Israel and the Gulf Arab monarchies, according to a new report released here Friday by the Rand Corporation. Entitled “Iran After the Bomb: How Would a Nuclear-Armed Tehran Behave?“, the report asserts that the acquisition by Tehran of nuclear weapons would above all be intended to deter an attack by hostile powers, presumably including Israel and the United States, rather than for aggressive purposes."An Iran with nukes will still be a declining power." -- Alireza Nader of the Rand Corporation And while ... [Link] [Cache]
George Gao (18.05.2013 00:20h): U.S.-Russia Nuclear Arsenals Cling to Bygone Era
In the late 19th century, Russian playwright Anton Chekhov famously touted one golden rule for dramatic productions: if you show your audience a loaded gun in the first act, that gun must go off by the last. The first launch of a Trident missile on Jan. 18, 1977 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Credit: U.S. Air Force But Chekhov’s storytelling trope is troubling if applied to the world’s weapons technology today, which include an estimated 17,300 nukes – used primarily by nations as props to leverage international power. According to the Ploughshares Fund’s World Nuclear Stockpile Report, an estimated 8,500 nukes ... [Link] [Cache]
Joe Hitchon (17.05.2013 15:31h): Pressure Mounting on U.S. over Congo Violence
A Congolese man transports charcoal on his bicycle outside Lubumbashi in the DRC. Credit: Miriam Mannak/IPSWith casualties in the long-running conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo DRC now surpassing every conflict since World War II, U.S. policymakers and advocates are stepping up campaigns to raise awareness and push legislation aimed at encouraging new negotiations, assisting in government reforms, and pressuring the neighbouring countries that have propped up the DRC’s government. Some advocates say the situation today could be better than at any time in recent years for a durable peace process. The U.S. House of Representatives is currently preparing ... [Link] [Cache]
Rebecca Murray (17.05.2013 14:56h): Tribes Keep Uneasy Peace in Southern Libya
Tebu security staff at Saharan oil fields in southern Libya. Credit: Rebecca Murray/IPSKaltoum Saleh, 18, is elated to graduate from her overcrowded high school in the remote Saharan town of Ubari, near the Algerian border. Saleh, a member of Ubari’s indigenous Tebu tribe, says that for decades under former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan Tebu suffered from state-sanctioned discrimination, which stemmed in part from the failure of the semi-nomadic tribe to register under Libya’s 1954 citizenship law. Gaddafi’s subsequent “Arabisation” campaign, intended to erase indigenous language and culture, also contributed to discrimination against the Tebu, many of whom were ... [Link] [Cache]
William Lloyd George (17.05.2013 09:07h): Ethiopia Playing at Being Good Neighbours
Somali government forces march during an army day parade in Mogadishu, Somalia. The country’s armed forces are not strong enough to control the threat of the Islamism extremist group Al-Shabaab and are propped up by Ethiopian troops and African Union peace-keepers. Credit: Abdurrahman Warsameh/IPSDespite comments by Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn suggesting the pending withdrawal of his country’s troops from Somalia, many experts have voiced doubts that Ethiopia will pull out of Somalia before it is capable of handling its security without assistance. “Ethiopia has a big interest in Somalia and will remain, keeping its eyes wide open there for ... [Link] [Cache]
Daan Bauwens (16.05.2013 18:32h): With Billions of Euros Pledged, Mali Risks Aid Overflow
International donors pledged yesterday to mobilise 3.25 billion Euros to rebuild Mali, a figure that surpassed all expectations. But experts warn that the country does not have the absorption capacity for so much aid, while others say donors should pressure the Malian government to stop ongoing human rights abuses. In January of this year, a French-led intervention ended more than a year of sectarian violence in the north of Mali. The intervention managed to stall the conflict, but the situation in the region remains tense. More than 467,000 people, around one third of the population in the north, are currently ... [Link] [Cache]
Lal Aqa Sherin (16.05.2013 16:01h): Unravelling the Civil War Propaganda
An Afghan soldier protects the palace of King Amanullah 1919-1929 that was partly destroyed in the 1992-1996 civil war. Credit: Giuliana Sgrena/IPSWestern fears of a civil war in Afghanistan are growing ahead of the scheduled pullout of international troops in 2014. However, experts here say the situation on the ground is not comparable to either 1988, when the Soviets withdrew from the country, or the mujahideen’s rise to power in 1992, which plunged the country into civil war. Speaking to BBC’s Radio 4 last month, British Defence Secretary Philip Hammond described the future of Afghanistan as uncertain, echoing a British ... [Link] [Cache]
Taylor Toeka Kakala (16.05.2013 09:38h): Fears of Rebel Infiltration of DR Congo Army
M23 rebels near Sake, Eastern DR Congo. The rebel group withdrew from Goma on Saturday, Dec. 1. Credit: William Lloyd-George/IPSThe “blind and unrestricted” reintegration of M23 deserters into the Congolese army could harm the country, according to Thomas d’Aquin Mwiti, the chair of the North Kivu civil society platform, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. According to Julien Paluku, governor of North Kivu province, 519 rebel deserters have been reintegrated into the Congolese army, known by its French acronym FARDC, since 2012. Since Apr. 21, 87 M23 rebel fighters have defected to the FARDC. Deserters who give themselves up to ... [Link] [Cache]
Vesna Peric Zimonjic (16.05.2013 09:37h): At Political Rally, Serbian Church Crosses Sensitive Line
The Serbian Orthodox Church is highly influential in Serbia. Above, the Cathedral of Saint Sava in Belgrade. Credit: George Groutas/CC by 2.0The influential Serbian Orthodox Church publicly crossed a line recently when two of its top clergymen took part in a Belgrade rally with messages amounting to direct threats against the lives of government officials. The rally last Friday was organised by opponents of Serbia’s recent and historic agreement with Kosovo that essentially ceded authority over Kosovo’s Serb population to Pristina. “We pray for the dead souls of government and parliament, and may all their sins be forgiven,” Archbishop Amfilohije ... [Link] [Cache]
Thalif Deen (16.05.2013 01:18h): U.N. General Assembly Condemns Syria as Sceptics Multiply
Bashar Ja’afari, Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the UN, addresses the Assembly on May 15. Credit: UN Photo/Evan SchneiderWhen the 193-member General Assembly voted Wednesday to condemn the beleaguered government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, there was an increase in the number of sceptics who neither supported nor opposed the tottering regime in Damascus. The resolution, which is legally non-binding, was adopted by a vote of 107-12, compared with 133-12 last August. As the number of supporters to the resolution declined, from 133 to 107, the abstentions increased significantly, from 31 to 59, including a mix of ... [Link] [Cache]
Katelyn Fossett (14.05.2013 11:19h): Syrian Attacks on Health Care System ‘Terrorising Population’
Syrian refugee children learn to survive at a camp in north Lebanon. Credit: Zak Brophy/IPS.Humanitarian assistance groups in Washington are warning that the health care system has become a deliberate target in the increasingly brutal civil war in Syria, presenting major challenges to addressing the humanitarian and refugee crises spurred by the conflict. In a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday, UK Prime Minister David Cameron stressed the centrality of the unfolding health crisis, emphasising the need in Syria to “care for trauma injuries, help torture victims to recover, [and get] Syrian families clean drinking water”. Health aid ... [Link] [Cache]
Nuclear Iran Can Be Contained and Deterred (14.05.2013 03:00h): Report
While preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon is preferable, the United States could successfully contain a nuclear Iran, according to a new report released here Monday by the Center for a New American Security, an influential think tank close to the administration of President Barack Obama. The report, “If All Else Fails: The Challenges of Containing a Nuclear-Armed Iran,” outlines a detailed “containment strategy” designed to deter Tehran’s use of a nuclear bomb or its transfer to non-state actors, and persuade other regional states not to develop their own nuclear arms capabilities."We have to consider the possibility that prevention ... [Link] [Cache]
Jacques N. Couvas (13.05.2013 15:00h): Despite Peaceful Withdrawal, PKK-Turkey Peace Remains Uncertain
A PKK soldier stands in front of a crowd gathered in the Qandil mountains. Credit: Karlos Zurutuza/IPSThe peaceful withdrawal from Turkey of combatants from the Kurdistan’s Workers Party PKK began last Wednesday but is already at risk of being compromised following a twin car bomb explosion on Saturday afternoon. The terrorist attack in Rayhanli in the Syrian border province of Hatay caused 46 civilian deaths and at least 155 injuries. Authorities’ initial reaction indicated a high degree of confusion, bias and lack of genuine intelligence as to the perpetrators of the explosions. No groups have claimed responsibility yet, but two ... [Link] [Cache]
George Gao (11.05.2013 03:11h): CIA Drone Strikes on Trial in Pakistan
Victims of drone attacks readied for burial in Miranshah, North Waziristan. Credit: Haji Mohammad Mujtaba/IPSAdding fuel to a long-simmering dispute between the U.S. and Pakistan, a Peshawar High Court declared CIA drone strikes illegal on Thursday, referring to such attacks in Pakistan’s tribal belt as “war crime s ”. The court called for its nation’s “use of force, if need be” to prevent further civilian deaths from U.S. drone strikes. It also ordered Pakistani delegates at the U.N. to bring forth the issue with the Security Council, where Pakistan is currently a non-permanent member.“Because the administration has been so opaque, ... [Link] [Cache]
Thalif Deen (10.05.2013 23:52h): Israeli Attacks on Syria Escape Security Council Scrutiny
Critics argue that the silence of the Security Council constitutes an international green light to Israel to continue with its new policy and military aggression against Syria. Credit: UN Photo/Rick BajornasIsrael, which has launched three air strikes inside Syria since January this year, has escaped scrutiny or condemnation by a Security Council which remains sharply divided. The continued air attacks have escalated tensions in the region and threatened a wider regional conflagration, according to reports from the Middle East.It appears that the Syrian regime has become an even bigger international pariah than Israel." -- Prof. Stephen Zunes Mouin Rabbani, co-editor ... [Link] [Cache]
Ashfaq Yusufzai (10.05.2013 19:59h): Skyping the Way to Victory, to Avoid Taliban
ANP candidate Syed Masoom Shah on his way to the hospital after an Apr. 14 bomb attack in Charsadda, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, that injured four people. Credit: Ashfaq Yusufzai/IPSIf you can’t beat them, at least innovate. That seems to be the lesson that Pakistan’s Awami National Party ANP has drawn from its predicament. Exhausted of being at the receiving end of an endless barrage of bomb and suicide attacks by Taliban militants, the party has turned to technology for succour. It is using the Internet to reach out to the electorate across its various constituencies in the ... [Link] [Cache]
Jim Lobe (10.05.2013 02:22h): Pluralities of Israelis, Palestinians Want Stronger U.S. Peace Role
The Shuafat refugee camp can be seen across the separation wall from the Israeli settlement Pisgat Ze'ev. Credit: Jillian Kestler-D’Amours/IPS.Amidst a new U.S. effort to revive the long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process, healthy pluralities of both peoples want U.S. President Barack Obama to play a stronger role in resolving their conflict, according to a major new poll released here Thursday by the Pew Research Center. The survey, which also covered attitudes towards Israel and Palestine in 11 other countries, found that Israeli confidence in Obama has increased since his visit to the Jewish state in March, while Palestinians retain little confidence ... [Link] [Cache]
Constanza Vieira (09.05.2013 20:20h): Displaced by Gold Mining in Colombia
Coal mining company Prodeco's port terminal in the Colombian city of Santa Marta, on the Caribbean coast. Credit: Juan Manuel Barrero/IPS “I was displaced here by mining a month ago. Illegal miners forced me out of my municipality. No, don’t write down where I’m from, let alone my name,” said a 40-year-old black man frightened for his safety. IPS agreed to say only that he is from Colombia’s southern Pacific coast region. Two leftwing guerrilla movements are active in the biodiverse area between Colombia’s Andes mountains and the coast. The larger group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia FARC , ... [Link] [Cache]
AJ Correspondents (09.05.2013 17:16h): Bangladesh Jamaat Leader Sentenced to Death
A Bangladesh war crimes tribunal has convicted and sentenced the assistant secretary-general of the Jamaat-e-Islami party to death for war crimes, raising fears of clashes between the police and supporters of the Islamist leader. Mohammad Kamaruzzaman, 59, was found guilty on charges of genocide and torture of unarmed civilians during the 1971 war for independence from Pakistan, lawyers and tribunal officials said on Thursday. Obaidul Hassan, the head of the three-judge tribunal, said the charges had been proved beyond doubt, and he was sentenced to death. He had previously been acquitted for two of the seven original charges. One of ... [Link] [Cache]
Giuliano Battiston (09.05.2013 17:12h): Culture Becomes Latest Front in Afghanistan’s War
Visitors to Sound Central, Central Asia's Modern Music Festival, held at the French Cultural Centre in Kabul. Credit: Giuliano Battiston/IPSAnother kind of war, less explosive than bombs and more subtle than night raids, is taking place in the Central Asian country of Afghanistan: a war of cultural influence. Its means are financial sponsorships and other support for cultural and artistic events. Last summer, when the Queen’s Palace of the Bagh-e-Babur the Garden of Babur housed the Afghan branch of Documenta 13, many in Kabul asked themselves what role art and culture play in a war-torn country. They stated that artistic ... [Link] [Cache]
Jim Lobe (09.05.2013 02:07h): Hope, Scepticism Over U.S.-Russian Accord on Syria Conference
The surprise accord reached by the U.S. and Russia in Moscow Tuesday to try to convene an international conference to resolve the two-year-old civil war in Syria as soon as the end of this month has been greeted with equal measures of hope and scepticism. If nothing else, the agreement apparently persuaded at least one key party, the UN-Arab League envoy for Syria, veteran Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi, to put off his previously reported intention to resign in the very near future."It represents a more realistic hope for bringing a modicum of peace and stability to Syria in the foreseeable ... [Link] [Cache]
Thalif Deen (08.05.2013 20:09h): Scolding with One Hand and Bribing with the Other
USAID Administrator Andrew S. Natsios centre meets with then Afghan Interim Chairman Hamid Karzai and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2002. Credit: Cpl Matthew Roberson, USMC/USAID/public domainWhen a Southeast Asian country was riddled with corruption in a bygone era, there were rumours that government officials routinely offered receipts every time they accepted a bribe. Last week, Hamid Karzai, the embattled president of Afghanistan, admitted that he was no better: providing receipts to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency CIA , which secretly bribed him with “bags of cash dropped off regularly at the presidential palace”."If the U.S. ever ... [Link] [Cache]
Amantha Perera (08.05.2013 14:05h): Still Homeless, Two Decades Later
Over two decades after they were forced to flee their homes in northern Sri Lanka, tens of thousands of Muslim IDPs still feel reluctant to return. Credit: Amantha Perera/IPSThe camp should not have been difficult to find. We were told to drive straight on the road that leads north away from the town of Puttalam, 140 kilometres from Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo, and we would come upon the settlement of internally displaced people. What IPS found were not the typical temporary shelters of the war displaced – no tarpaulins stamped with the telltale insignia of donor agencies, no busy aid ... [Link] [Cache]
Ashfaq Yusufzai (08.05.2013 13:33h): Women Taking the Lead in Northern Pakistan Province
Shagufta Malik first on left, front row ; Zahira Khattak, president of Awami National Party's provincial women's wing fourth, front row ; and Jamila Gilani fifth, front row , with other party members at campaign meeting. Credit: Ashfaq Yusufzai/IPS“Women in Pakhtun society have traditionally helped their men in hard times,” declares former Pakistani lawmaker Shagufta Malik. They are doing so again, and how, going by their hectic campaigning activity in northern Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. An erstwhile member of the provincial assembly, Malik is spearheading the election campaign for Awami National Party chief Asfandyar Wali Khan, who is running for ... [Link] [Cache]
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Tags: Conflict, imperialism, strife, terrorism, war