The Ukraine conflict also enters a new year as the world approaches 2023. However, several other wars that began prior to the Russian invasion continue, and this is not the only conflict that has gotten worse.
2022 saw the conflict that stirred up the worldwide request. Russia had been building up troops at the border with Ukraine for months. However, on February 24, when Russia invaded its neighbor, everything changed. At the time, a full-scale war seemed impossible.
The war also enters a new year as the world approaches 2023.
However, several other wars that began prior to the Russian invasion continue, and the conflict in Ukraine is not the only one that has been prolonged.
Yemen and the Tigray people in Ethiopia remain without peace. At the same time, there are concerns regarding widespread violence in Pakistan, where general elections are scheduled to take place in October.
The non-profit Crisis Group compiles a list of ten conflicts to watch each year. The Crisis Group’s rankings are presented here, along with Firstpost’s additional analysis.
1. Ukraine The conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to garner global attention. On January 2, 2023, a Ukrainian airstrike on a camp in the Moscow-controlled Donetsk region resulted in the deaths of several Russian troops.
The Kremlin admitted for the first time that the attack resulted in the deaths of 63 of its employees, while Kyiv stated that around 400 people were killed.
Notably, Russia claimed that Ukraine used HIMARS rocket launchers supplied by the United States. Kremlin has been blaming Washington and NATO for direct contribution in the conflict.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, claims that Moscow is getting ready to use Iranian-made exploding drones to intensify its attack on Ukraine.
Experts caution that it is still too early to rule out the possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons against its non-nuclear-armed neighbor, despite Russia’s reduction in rhetoric.
With no serious endeavors settled, the conflict is probably going to go on with its ramifications being felt across the world be it key or monetary.
2. Russia and Ukraine aren’t the only warring former Soviet states in Nagorno-Karabakh. As a result of a prolonged conflict in Ukraine, tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan have risen again.
Armenia and Azerbaijan waged war in 2020 over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The majority of Armenia’s territories since the 1990s were ceded to Baku as a result of the conflict, which international observers believe was sparked by Azerbaijan.
In any case, full-scale battling halted after a Moscow-handled harmony bargain in September 2020. Russia provided the Armenian-populated enclave with 5,000 peacekeepers as part of the agreement.
Azerbaijan’s attack on Armenian cities in September 2022 marked the most significant escalation since the war in 2020.
The fact that the attack occurred at the same time as the Russian troop withdrawal in Karabakh is noteworthy. Moscow moved some of its troops from Karabakh to the front lines of Ukraine in September 2022 to fight a successful Kyiv counteroffensive.
Armenia now faces the more powerful Azerbaijan on its own, with its strongest ally still engaged in the Ukraine conflict.
3. Iran The Crisis Group has placed Iran third on its list of conflicts to watch in 2023. It stated that Iran’s isolation was caused by the Islamic republic’s “supply of weapons” to Russia, ongoing anti-regime protests, and the limbo over talks on the Iran nuclear deal.
Protesters are still the target of repression by Iranian security forces. Cross country exhibits started after the passing of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini following her capture by the ethical quality police supposedly for wearing a free hijab.
Rights groups say that security forces have killed more than 500 protesters thus far. Western nations continue to maintain diplomatic ties with Tehran despite protests from activists.
Experts think that the West wants to keep the talks going in an effort to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.
“The prospects for talks to defuse the nuclear crisis appear dim in light of today’s poisonous relations. The Crisis Group stated, “However, at least gaining an understanding of each other’s red lines could help keep tensions under control until there is more space for de-escalation and substantive diplomatic engagement.”
4. Yemen In 2014, Iran-backed Houthi rebels toppled the internationally recognized Saudi Arabia-supported government, igniting the Arab world’s poorest nation into civil war.
Experts have referred to the conflict in Yemen as a “proxy war” between Riyadh and Tehran.
The UN-mediated truce between the Houthis and the internationally recognized government came to an end in October 2022. Since then, there hasn’t been any heavy fighting, but there is still no sign of peace.
The Crisis Group says that Saudi Arabia’s demand that the government pay “salaries to rebel military and security force” was a major point of contention between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia in negotiations.
5. In late 2020, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, the ruling party in the region, launched an attack on several Ethiopian Army military bases, igniting the Ethiopia War.
The army was sent to Tigray as a response by Nobel Peace Prize-winning Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Large-scale fighting broke out between the TPLF and its allies, supported by militias, and the Ethiopian Army.
Eritrea, Ethiopia’s neighbor, joined the Ethiopian Army in the battle.
In South Africa in November 2022, the disputing parties agreed to end their conflict.
The Crisis Group, on the other hand, asserts that peace is shaky. The Tigray rebels have yet to hand over their weapons, and the Eritrean Army has not left Ethiopian territory.
6. The dreaded M23 rebel group returned to the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo and exacerbated the situation in the Great Lakes region.
How the rebels came back to life is the question.
The United Nations claims that Rwanda, DRC’s neighbor, supports M23. Rwanda would support these rebels, but why?
Due to the involvement of Congo’s neighbors in the conflict, the Second Congo War, which lasted from 1998 to 2003, is commonly referred to as the Great War of Africa.
Here, however, a smaller version of the same thing is taking place. In 2022, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi encouraged Ugandan soldiers to battle the Partnered Majority rule Powers, a gathering that has sworn loyalty to the Islamic Express, the Emergency Gathering said.
Paul Kagame, president of Rwanda, was enraged by this because he saw Uganda’s involvement as a threat to Rwanda’s control over the DRC.
The DRC will hold elections, and the involvement of outsiders and the already-existing tensions in the region may further complicate the situation.
7. Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, and Ethiopia make up the Sahel region in Africa.
ISIS and Al-Qaeda, two terrorist organizations, continue to gain ground in a number of Sahel countries where local communities frequently clash and the government is under weak control.
The Crisis Group stated that Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger are particularly troubling. Nearly 40% of Burkina Faso’s territory is controlled by terrorist groups.
8. Haiti
The Caribbean country has been constrained by rough posses since the death of president Jovenel Moise in July 2021. The break government drove by PM Ariel Henry however supported by the US remains generally disagreeable at home.
The political patronage that Haiti’s gangs have received for a long time is making them more powerful than the forces that once controlled them.
After Henry’s government ended subsidies for oil, the largest gang in the country, G9, took control of a significant oil terminal in 2022. The government was only able to retake the terminal after months of fighting.
According to Crisis Group, at least half of the country’s population is severely hungry.
Henry called for foreign military assistance in October 2022 because the situation had gotten so bad. Both domestically and internationally, the decision has been met with skepticism.
There are a number of locals who are against outside intervention, and nations from outside the country are also wary of sending troops there.
9. In a nation that is politically unstable, Pakistani elections frequently turn violent. Pakistan is a good example. Benazir Bhutto, the nation’s former prime minister, was killed in 2007 while campaigning for a poll.
An attempt on Imran Khan’s life during a rally the previous year was unsuccessful.
The upcoming election is something to keep an eye on in Pakistan, a country where the army runs politics.
A no-confidence motion in the parliament was used to remove Khan from power, who had lost the support of the army. Following that, a coalition government led by Shehbaz Sharif was formed by the opposition parties. However, Khan is still a popular leader who has become an outspoken opponent of the army since his removal.
In the meantime, the Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan, or TTP, has intensified terror attacks throughout Pakistan and broken a ceasefire with the Pakistani government.
10. Taiwan: Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives in the United States, traveled to Taiwan last year for the first time in 25 years at the highest level.
Unsurprisingly, China, which asserts sovereignty over Taiwan, was enraged by the visit.
China responded by staging massive military exercises. Despite this, a war doesn’t seem likely to happen soon.
The war between Russia and Ukraine has been closely watched in Beijing. It hasn’t said anything about Russia’s invasion of its neighbor, but it hasn’t given Moscow weapons either.
Washington has refused to recognize Taiwan despite Pelosi’s visit.
The Crisis Group asserts that if domestic economic and political conditions become volatile, Beijing may escalate its hostility.
It stated, “A more forceful show of resolve is possible, particularly if the U.S. is seen to be pressing its advantage at a time of perceived Chinese weakness” in the event that Beijing’s internal economic and political woes escalate.
