Deaths from global conflicts are at their highest level in the last 30 years

According to the report of the Oslo Peace Research Institute, the total number of battlefield deaths resulting from global conflicts, including civilians, since 2021 has increased to the highest level in the last thirty years.

The research conducted by the Oslo Peace Research Institute (Prio) showed that while the number of deaths on the battlefield decreased compared to the previous two years, the total number of conflict-related deaths, including civilians, since 2021 has increased to the highest level in the last 30 years.

This increase in battlefield deaths over the past three years was caused by the civil war in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s bombing of Gaza.

According to the report, although the number of deaths in the clashes linked to the ceasefire in Tigray decreased last year, there are still 122 thousand clashes in 2023, with more than 71 thousand people killed in Ukraine in 2023 and 23,000 people killed in Gaza in less than three months at the end of 2023. There was death due to death.

The research also showed that the scale of global conflict has increased significantly, with 59 different conflict zones recorded in 34 countries, as many states are dealing with more than one conflict at the same time.

Siri Aas Rustad, author of the report and research professor at Prio, said:

“Violence in the world is at an all-time high… The numbers reveal that the conflict environment is becoming increasingly complex and more conflict actors are operating within the same country.

Over the past few years we have seen the accumulation of many very violent conflicts, such as in Gaza, Ukraine and before that Ethiopia.

This becomes an international power struggle – who supports whom and where the money goes. This creates a stronger international environment.”

Rustad said conflicts are also becoming more complex, with more than half of the countries having more than one conflict and seven having more than three conflicts going on at the same time.

This is partly because the Islamic State and other armed Islamist groups operate in many countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, he said.

Africa continued to be the region with the most state-based conflicts, with 28 different conflict zones. The report states that the number of conflicts in Africa has almost doubled in the last decade, with more than 330,000 battlefield deaths on the continent since 2021. For the first time, the American continent became the region hosting the most non-state conflicts, with 36 conflicts.

Amid this, Mexico remained the most violent country, with nearly 14,000 conflict-related deaths.

Hibya News Agency