War & Conflict Archive

Sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shiites continues to dominate headlines, but the latest threat to stability in Iraq — and perhaps the whole region — appears to be mounting tension between the Turkish government and Iraq’s Kurds, both of whom are now reported to be massing troops on the Iraq-Turkey border. While regional experts say the breakout of violence along the border likely is not imminent, recent developments indicate the United States is taking the threat seriously, as the consequences of a conflagration could be dire for the fragile Iraqi occupation. Turkey insists its grievance is with the Kurdistan Workers’ […]

KATMANDU, Nepal — While thousands of Nepalese gathered to mark the first anniversary of the king’s humiliating capitulation on April 24, 2006, King Gyanendra was, quite literally, praying for survival. At the Dakshinkali Temple, just outside of Katmandu, the king and Queen Komal oversaw the ritual slaughter of five animals — a rooster, duck, goat, sheep and water buffalo — in a ceremony to appease the bloodthirsty deity, Kali. It was on this day last year that King Gyanendra announced he was ending his 15-month autocratic reign, after 19 days of protests in the streets of Katmandu and around the […]

DENPASAR, Indonesia — On April 9, East Timor will choose who will replace ex-guerrilla leader Xanana Gusmao as president. The vote is the first since the country restored independence on May 20, 2002. But there is little to celebrate, as poverty, social and political upheaval, and widespread violence plague Asia’s newest nation. Among the eight candidates, Nobel Peace Prize winner and current Prime Minister Jose Ramon-Horta is the overwhelming favorite. While the directly elected presidency is a largely symbolic post, Gusmao played a central part in running the country and the next president could have a significant effect on the […]

BANGKOK, Thailand — After the nightly curfew curtain comes down at 8 p.m. in parts of the southern Thailand city of Yala, only stray dogs and army patrols move about the streets. The eight-hour curfew has been in force since Muslim insurgents stepped up their bloodletting in the area, stopping a minibus and cold-bloodedly executing its eight Buddhist occupants, including women and children. But while people might sleep more easily in the curfew zones, the sectarian violence continues elsewhere in the Muslim-majority three southernmost provinces of Thailand. The death toll since a resurgence of violence began in 2004 has risen […]

While the eyes of the world are on Darfur, another crisis in Sudan looms. On Jan. 9, 2005, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between North and South Sudan ended a 23-year civil war and initiated a six-year interim period of peace. With less than four years remaining in that period, the prospect of a sustainable peace is fading. True leadership is urgently needed to build the trust required to create a shared political future for the country. It is positive that the word “peaceful” can still be used to describe North-South relations. Their battles have moved from the fields to […]

Editor’s note: The United Nations has declared April 4 as International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. BOGOTÁ, Colombia — As Colombia enters its fifth decade of civil war, landmines are causing what Colombia’s top military commander describes as the “greatest damage” to his nation’s armed forces, accounting for 50 percent of military casualties. In recent years, as Colombian troops have intensified their campaign against the country’s Marxist guerrillas, landmines have become the guerillas’ most effective and destructive weapon. Landmines, together with unexploded ordnance like hand grenades, mortars and bombs, claimed three victims a day last year […]

IRBIL, Iraq — Tens of thousands of Iraqi Arabs have fled central Iraq for the relative peace of the Kurdish north, creating fresh tensions that are liable to be exacerbated by a plan to relocate Arabs from the oil-rich city of Kirkuk. On Monday, a suicide bomber detonated a truck full of explosives in downtown Kirkuk, killing 13 people and wounding at least 90 others, according to Iraqi police. The attack appeared to be in response to the relocation plan, and observers say this may be a sign of worse to come. About 1.9 million people have sought refuge inside […]

LAGOS, Nigeria — Will Nigerians experience their first democratic transition of power since the end of colonial rule, or will corruption and disarray prevent the country’s fragile democracy from continuing another four years? It’s the question on everybody’s mind in the weeks ahead of the April 14 vote for president in the oil-rich, but troubled, West African nation. A week after the vote for president, legislative and local elections are scheduled to take place. After gaining independence from Britain in 1960, leader after leader in Nigeria has had his authority usurped by military coups. Though there have been fleeting periods […]