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Revelation 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Important Takeaways:
- More armed conflicts took place worldwide in 2023 than any other year since the end of the Second World War, according to a Norwegian study published Monday.
- Last year saw 59 conflicts of which 28 were in Africa, the Peace Research Institute of Oslo (PRIO) showed.
- But the number of countries which experienced conflicts declined from 39 in 2022 to 34.
- The number of deaths in combat also halved to around 122,000 over the previous year, according to data collected by Sweden’s Uppsala University from NGOs and international organizations
- “Violence in the world is at an all-time high since the end of the Cold War,” said Siri Aas Rustad, PRIO researcher and the main author of the report covering trends during the period 1946-2023.
- “The figures suggest that the conflict landscape has become increasingly complex, with more conflict actors operating within the same country,” she explained.
- According to PRIO, the increase in the number of conflicts can be partially attributed to the Islamic State spreading across Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and the involvement of a growing number of non-state actors such as the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Group to Support Islam and Muslims (JNIM).
- While the number of combat deaths decreased last year, the accumulated number for the past three years is the highest for a three-year period in 30 years.
- A total of 28 armed conflicts were registered in Africa, followed by Asia with 17, the Middle East with 10, Europe with three and the Americas with one.
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