Wars down, political disputes up in 2018: Report

<p>By Zehra Nur Duz</p> <p>EDIRNE, Turkey (AA) – While the overall number of wars have declined in 2018, a new report published on Wednesday by a Germany-based conflict research institute indicated that &quot;limited wars&quot; seems to have surged.</p> <p>The 2018 Conflict Barometer report by the Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research showed that conflicts last year were the fewest of the last seven years. </p> <p>In 2017, there were a total of 385 conflicts worldwide. This figure decreased by 3.38 percent to 372 the following year. </p> <p>Over 213 of these conflicts, were fought violently, while 150 were characterized as non-violent political conflicts.</p> <p>The overall number of &quot;full-scale wars&quot; decreased from 20 in 2017 to 16 the following year, while limited wars increased from 16 to 24.</p> <p>On a five-level scale indicating the intensity of a conflict — from disputes to non-violent crises, violent crises, limited wars and wars – the report showed that many major struggles maintained their level of intensity.</p> <p>These included the wars in Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Libya, the Central African Republic, Somalia, and Nigeria, or, for instance, the limited wars in Brazil, Colombia, and the Philippines.</p> <p>As in previous years, the report indicated that violent crises occurring within a country such as the opposition conflicts in Venezuela or Nicaragua continued. </p> <p>Moreover, non-violent conflicts between states, for instance between the U.S. and Russia or between India and Pakistan, have also been a &quot;central determinant&quot; of 2018.</p> <p>Finally, peace initiatives, for instance between Greece and Macedonia, in Ethiopia, or in South Sudan, aimed to pave the way for more &quot;peaceful future relations&quot; among the parties involved.</p> <p>139 conflicts stemmed from ideological differences and problems arising from the administrative systems of states, according to the report.</p><br>