October 19, 2000. Copyright, 2000, Graphic News. All rights reserved

ARMED CONFLICT CLAIMS 100,000 DEATHS WORLDWIDE
Notes compiled by Ken Petrie

LONDON, October 19, Graphic News: SUB-SAHARAN Africa accounted for nearly two-thirds of the 100,000 people worldwide killed as a direct result of armed conflict over the year to August 2000, a leading defence think-tank said on Thursday. The International Institute for Strategic Studies said in its annual study, ÒThe Military Balance 2000-2001Õ, that there has been armed conflict of some form in three-quarters of all countries in the region.

There are in total 37 armed conflicts around the world in 2000, two more than in the previous year. Of these, 28 are internal armed conflicts -- up from 24 last year -- and nine are international, down from 11 last year. 

In Central Africa there has been fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo not only between Government forces and rebels but also between Rwandan and Ugandan troops deployed to support the rebels. In Angola the civil war continues. Hopes of peace in West Africa were dashed in May 2000 when Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels launched an offensive in Sierra Leone and the Cote dÕIvoire government fell to a military coup in December 1999. In the Horn of Africa there has been a major conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea while in Somalia warlords continue to battle for dominance in the Mogadishu area. In Sudan the 17-year civil war continues. 

South-East Asia: IndonesiaÕs internal-security situation has continued to deteriorate and the government has failed to stem the tide of violence. The strife results from a complex mixture of separatist movements and sectarian violence, principally between Muslims and Christians. The armed forces and police in many instances have supported one side against the other and exacerbated the problem rather than bringing security and asserting central-government authority. The worst violence has been in the Moluccan Islands where more than 3,000 people have been killed in fighting between Christians and Muslims.

Latin America: There continues to be far more guerrilla activity in Colombia than anywhere else in South America with over 1,000 unarmed civilians killed in the first half of this year and abductions for ransom reported to be running at 3,000 per year.

Middle East: Bilateral efforts to restart the peace process, not only with the Palestinians but also with Syria, have stalled. In the last two weeks of rioting in Israel over 100 people have been killed and many hundreds more injured.

The Caucasus and Central Asia: The region continues to be the scene of unresolved and persistent conflict. Since August 1999 it is estimated that about 2,585 Russian troops have been killed and some 8,000 wounded in the second Chechen war. The Russian Ministry of Defence estimates civilian casualties to be fewer than 1,000. This figure is likely to be an underestimate -- the IISS considers that the civilian deaths in the 1999-2000 war are likely to total around 5,000.

There are currently 14 UN peacekeeping operations around the world involving 28,900 troops from 38 countries -- a three-fold increase on last year but still well below the period 1993-1995 when UN troops reached a peak of over 70,000.
/ENDS

Source: International Institute of Strategic Studies