<

Sept. 11 Terrorist Attacks Top World Conflict List
Monday, December 24, 2001
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- AP
The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks rank as the "most dangerous conflict" of the year in a new report that found nine fewer conflicts around the world than in 2000.

Of 193 countries evaluated by the U.S. National Defense Council Foundation, 59 have had serious conflicts this year, from separatist-ethnic violence and political fighting to drug trafficking, religious turmoil and a mutiny by soldiers in Papua New Guinea over army downsizing.

The figure is nine fewer than last year's 68 countries, but still far more than the Cold War average of 35 countries, when the U.S.-Soviet standoff brought the world some stability.

The annual report found no "high-intensity conflicts pitching one state army versus another." Instead, most conflicts were "low-medium intensity and were normally fought between the state and one or more sub-state actors, such as a rebel force or a terrorist organization."

The foundation also named 10 countries considered most likely to be conflict areas next year.

Topping the list is Somalia, a possible terrorist haven where warlords have been undermining transitional government, the study found. Also on that list are Iraq, Myanmar, Congo, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Burundi, Sudan, Comoros and Sierra Leone.
(TheGlobeAndMail.com News Source)
2001 © The Associated Press.

Dan