THE 7 MAIN CONFLICTS IN THE WORLD AND THEIR CAUSES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The main conflicts in the world today are the war in Syria, the war in Yemen, the war in South Sudan, the war in Iraq and the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There is also an economic conflict between the United States and China.

The severity of world conflicts is usually rated by the number of casualties, both civilian and military, according to the system approved by the UN. This classification ranges from large-scale wars, when they cause more than 1000 deaths per year, to low-intensity conflicts.

The causes of these main conflicts are not usually simple. Economic reasons, the search for natural resources, ethnic disputes and religious motives are often mixed.

In many cases, you have to go back in the history of the country to find its causes.

The main current conflicts and their causes

1- Syria

The civil war in Syria began in 2011. After the arrest and torture of teenagers who had painted revolutionary paintings, demonstrations were called in the streets of the country's cities.

The protesters were protesting against the regime of President Bashar al Assad, calling for democratic reforms.

The security forces reacted by shooting at protesting people, causing several deaths.

The protests, after this, spread even more throughout the country, demanding the resignation of al Assad. The government, for its part, accused part of the protesters of being fundamentalist terrorists.

Government repression continued to grow which, in turn, made the opposition begin to arm itself and respond with more violence.

Furthermore, it was divided into numerous groups depending on its final goals. There were moderate democratic groups, other Islamists, and also Kurdish troops seeking independence.

In a few months the situation had led to a real civil war with the participation of several international powers, such as Russia or Turkey.

So far, according to the UN, more than 400,000 people have died and almost 5 million have left the country.

2- Yemen

Yemen's civil war began in September 2014 and pits Houthi rebels against supporters of former President Abd Rabbu Hadi. According to UN data, the conflict has already caused 15,000 deaths and 5 million displaced people.

The Houthis are followers of a religious movement called Zaidism. This is part of Shiite Islam and has the support of Iran. Meanwhile, his adversaries are Sunni and supported by Saudi Arabia.

Although Yemen has lived in a permanent state of war since the 1990s, the current situation originated after the capture of the capital Sana'a by the Houthi rebels.

They overthrew President Hadi, greatly weakened by corruption and by the demonstrations against him.

At the religious level, the rebels accused the government of imposing Wahhabism, the most radical interpretation of Islam.

In the economic, they assured that it was not investing in the zones where the Huzis were majority in order not to improve their living conditions.

The conflict escalated in 2015 when a coalition of countries led by Saudi Arabia began bombing the country in an attempt to return the ousted Hadi to power.

3- South Sudan

The civil war in South Sudan begins on December 14, 2013. On that day, a part of the Sudan People's Liberation Army tries to stage a coup to seize power. This attempt was, in the first instance, defeated by those loyal to the Government.

Just the day after the attempt, President Sal Kiir ordered the arrest of his former Vice President Machar, accusing him of being the instigator of the coup.

Both being from two different ethnic groups, this arrest attempt caused clashes between the two tribes that were expanding throughout the country.

Machar's supporters have been taking positions since then, controlling important areas in the north. The clashes are especially virulent in regions with more oil deposits, in order to control that wealth.

The ethnic confrontation has so far caused 2 million refugees, with more than 1 million children at risk of extreme famine.

4- Iraq War

The Iraq conflict can be divided into two different parts. The beginning is found in the invasion of the country by US forces together with some allied nations, in order to overthrow the Saddam Hussein regime.

The fighting against the Iraqi army did not last long. In just two months the allied troops had taken power.

However, the conflict has not ceased to this day. The open war turned into a low intensity war that continues to this day.

Although the coalition of countries tried to get a new government to take over, the violence began to grow steadily.

There began to be clashes between numerous factions, both religious between Shiites and Sunnis, and ethnic with the Kurds.

Insurgent groups of all kinds were fighting each other and also against United States troops. In addition, new players appeared on the military scene, such as Al-Qaeda and, in recent years, the Islamic State. The latter has even succeeded in establishing a sultanate in parts of the country.

Despite continued announcements by the US government about an upcoming troop withdrawal, the truth is that fighting has continued, with continuous bombardments against areas controlled by radical Islamic groups.

5- Democratic Republic of the Congo

In order to explain the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, we must go back to a little over 20 years ago, which is how long the country has been in a permanent war.

In 1996, the overthrow of Mobutu, one of the longest-lived dictators on the continent, took place. The protagonist was Laurent Desiré Kabila, father of the current president, Joseph Kabila.

With the help of Rwanda, Uganda, the United States and the United Kingdom and with the promise of bringing democracy, he succeeds in taking power.

All this occurred in a context marked by the wars between Hutus and Tutsis in neighboring countries, which led to large massacres, especially in Rwanda, where one million Tutsis were killed.

Five years later, after Kabila was assassinated, elections are held in which his son wins the presidency.

And, although it manages to maintain a precarious peace, various Tutsi militias appear that had fled to avoid being tried for war crimes.

Everything explodes again when a group calling itself the Congolese Rally for Democracy takes up arms to, according to them, defend the Congolese Hutu minority.

6- Economic conflict between China and the United States

The economic conflict between China and the United States is based on the imposition of tariffs on the export of products. The Chinese economy is growing steadily and the United States is trying to maintain world leadership.

On the other hand, there is a conflict related to 5G technology; The United States sees it as a danger to the privacy of global citizens and has warned its allies of the importance of not letting China take over its installation.

7- Conflicts derived from the Coronavirus pandemic

The coronavirus stopped the world economy and has caused internal problems in the most affected countries. The pandemic not only caused a major economic crisis, but political conflicts between countries, especially in the European Union.

References

1. Human Rights Watch. Democratic Republic of Congo (2016). Retrieved from www.hrw.org
2. Uppsala Conflict Data Program. Department of Peace and Conflict Research (2016). Retrieved from ucdp.uu.se
3. Max Yulis; Zach Falber. THE SYRIAN CIVIL WAR: THE ORIGINS, ACTORS, AND ECONOMIC AFTERMATH (March 19, 2017). Retrieved from publicpolicy.wharton.upenn.edu
4. BBC News. South Sudan: What is the fighting about? (May 10, 2014). Retrieved from bbc.com
5. UNHCR Spanish Committee. What are the most serious conflicts in the world today? (2017) Retrieved from eacnur.org.