Britain, France, and Germany have triggered a dispute resolution mechanism that could lead to the reinstatement of UN sanctions. The group’s activity declined last year compared to 2018, although it remained responsible for some of the deadliest attacks targeting civilians, including a bombing at a wedding ceremony in Kabul that reportedly killed more than 90 Shiite Afghans (BBC, 16 September 2019). "A Guide to the United States’ History of Recognition, Diplomatic, and Consular Relations, by Country, since 1776: Iran," Accessed March 6, 2020. On the republican side, you have dissident organizations who are criminal gangs, but they’re using this political cover. The Arab-Israeli conflict is a contest over a particular territory. Al Shabaab is likely to renew attempts at de-legitimizing the Somali government through frequent attacks, and Somalia’s Gulf allies are equally likely to ramp up efforts at securing political sway ahead of the general election. The remaining fatalities occur at the hands of unidentified actors or external forces, such as AMISOM or the US military. The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) is a disaggregated data collection, analysis, and crisis mapping project. But the overall number of civilians killed through direct or indiscriminate IS-K attacks (non-battle events) decreased by more than 60% compared to the year prior. Artillery shelling, however, continued daily in violation of the tenuous agreement. Frontlines stabilised after about a month, and efforts were undertaken to solve the conflict and unify ranks against Houthi forces. On 4 November 2020, Domus organized the DomusForum 2020 “The future of cities”. Country insists all people who die of virus are cremated even if it violates religious beliefs Published: 30 Dec 2020 Muslim Council of Britain challenges forced Covid cremations in Sri Lanka However, Iran could aim to disrupt shipping in the Strait of Hormuz or launch cyber attacks. Protestant loyalists, meanwhile, fear the potential of a united Ireland. And lastly, near the US border in the state of Coahuila, a cartel launched a military-style invasion into Villa Union, leading to an hours-long gun battle with state and federal forces at the beginning of December, leaving 22 people dead. Many of the dead were reported to have been ethnic minorities living in Oromia (AP, 26 October 2019). Today, many residents who live along these walls still want them to remain. These factions include the Maronite Christian minority, who are often in conflict with the Muslim majority. “I live on a peace line, and I feel safer with those walls up,” Brennan said, echoing the stance of many others in Short Strand. Thompson said not long after moving to the area, she was punched in the face and her friend's arm was broken on one occasion by people from the other side. Citizens of J&K ended 2019 with a reduced right to self-determination, suppressed civil liberties and roadblocks to democracy following constitutional and security measures introduced prior to BDC elections. A mural on the Falls Road in west Belfast in protest of the peace walls coming down. Current Event "Religious conflicts around the globe and a solution" written by Anna Shaukat on Oct 15, 2020. Tensions between Iran and the US have steadily intensified since 2018, evolving into armed confrontation after the Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, Qasem Soleimani, was killed by a US drone strike in Iraq on 2 January 2020. Many of the conflicts identified in previous years have remained concerns for 2020. Internationally, tension between India and Pakistan over the disputed Kashmir region escalated in 2019, as the volatile political relationship between the two countries was tested by militant attacks and frequent cross-border violence along the Line of Control (LoC). The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) hopes to make inroads in Delhi where they will face stiff opposition from the incumbent Aam Admi Party (AAP) and Indian National Congress (INC) as well as the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA). They’re talking about bringing these walls down, but that’s definitely not going to happen,” she said. She has been responsible for coding Israel, Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan since May 2017. The number of demonstration events is also notably high in the northern Akkar governorate, where protests are typically less common than in other regions. The upsurge in Taliban violence can be partially attributed to the group’s operations targeting voters, election workers, and campaigners around the September presidential election. Since coming to power in May 1991, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), maintained a tight lid on competition between ethnically based federal states through harsh repression of media and political opposition movements. During the second year of Abiy’s term, ACLED has recorded clashes between ethnic militias and communal groups near the Oromo-Afar regional state borders, the Guji Oromo-Gedeo community border areas, the Amhara-Gumuz regional state borders, the Oromo-Benishangul Gumuz regional state borders, and the Oromo special zones in Amhara region, among others – resulting in the displacement of millions (Africa News, 13 May 2019). The Taliban remained resilient and by far the most active insurgent group, engaging in more than 10,000 reported conflict events with pro-government forces. If peace talks fail, intensification of fighting could pose a serious threat to the Afghan government unless the US is willing to extend its military mission in the country. Despite India’s ruling BJP having the freedom to campaign across J&K and contest unopposed by the state’s mainstream political establishment, independent candidates unexpectedly took 19 of 22 J&K districts at the polls (The Wire, 26 October 2019). In Northern Ireland, Catholics and Protestants in urban, working-class neighborhoods continue to be segregated 20 years after the signing of the Good Friday peace deal. Additionally, with tensions running high between US- and Iran- allied groups, it remains to be seen how this will play out in Lebanon between various political parties – particularly with Iran’s prominent ally Hezbollah. Unless cooperation among Somalia’s federal member states increases and the threat from Al Shabaab is more effectively neutralized, Somalia is likely to see continued obstacles to its recovery from collapse. She holds a PhD in International Relations and a master’s degree in Middle East and Central Asian Security from the University of St Andrews. Membership has dropped by an average of … While Qatar and its ally Turkey are important supporters of President Farmajo’s federal government, the UAE has pursued relations with Somaliland, effectively undermining the federal government’s authority (Global Risk Insights, 1 February 2019). Her primary research interests are the dynamics of conflict and violence, African political environments and elite networks. The recent uptick in Al Shabaab operations against targets in both Somalia and Kenya is likely to continue into 2020, posing a major security challenge for the Somali national government and its partners as they seek legitimacy by providing safety and security. With minority groups in the US at increased risk of violence and intimidation, state-sanctioned targeting on the basis of nationality raises red flags. Governments are also much more likely to use violence against their citizens without international reproach. This still continues today. In Beverly Hills in September, pro-Trump supporters and anti-Trump demonstrators clashed, again with punches being thrown and police needing to engage (CBS News, 18 September 2019). Yet undoubtedly, US sanctions have inflicted significant harm on Iran’s economy, which has long suffered from mismanagement and corruption. But before any substantial reduction in violence can be achieved, the two sides will have to agree about the future of Afghanistan’s democracy and electoral process, rights of women, the fate of heavily armed warlords, and a host of other highly contentious issues (USA Today, 29 December 2019). Heightened tension between India and Pakistan surrounding the Kashmir issue, coupled with dissent against the perceived anti-Muslim nature of the Indian government’s policies surrounding Kashmir and the CAA, will perpetuate the environment of mistrust between Islamabad and New Delhi. To download real-time and historical data for a specific region, country, or location, select the relevant areas from those categories and leave all other categories as they are. Additionally, violent inter-party rivalries extend the schism between the numerous concurrent political ideologies which exist within the world’s largest democracy. Office of the Historian. Ethiopia: At risk of increased fragmentation despite a popular leader. Cybersecurity. All rights reserved. The Islamic State of Khorasan (IS-K) also remained active in Afghanistan in 2019, launching dozens of attacks on government and civilian targets. A study by a German academic says religious conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa have been on the rise for decades. Based on the current trajectory of the moving groups, the most immediate threats are centered on northern Cote D’Ivoire — where a contentious election in 2020 is exposing old political faultlines; northern Ghana — where a recent history of ethnic preferences in land law and tax disputes has pit Fulani and other citizens against each other; southern Mali — where the national government has largely ignored or poorly reacted to the encroachment of a northern threat; and Guinea — where disputes about constitutional term limits are distracting the government and emboldening those in opposition to the Conde regime. India’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government is navigating a complex landscape of political discord involving long-standing international and domestic conflicts. The walls were meant to be temporary, but they helped to calm tensions and decrease attacks between the two communities living in close proximity and became permanent. Pakistan has recently adhered to a policy of vocal opposition to India. As most demonstrations were held in provincial towns and working class areas, it suggested there may be an absence of a broad social base willing to push for radical change (Transatlantic Puzzle, 24 December 2019). Since mid-October 2019, Lebanese citizens across all sectors and demographics have taken to the street to express a variety of grievances with the government. Tensions first began to escalate in May 2018, when President Donald Trump announced the US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), reinstating all sanctions that had been lifted as part of the nuclear accord. The number of reported civilian fatalities from direct or indiscriminate Taliban attacks (non-battle events) increased by more than 30%. 1. Success in current negotiations could lead to a significant decrease in the Saudi war effort. There are a number of questions remaining about how the military conflict between the US and Iran will unfold. The situation could then spiral into full-scale war. It remains to be seen if security concerns will supersede the general frustration and discontent with the political system. He, too, has a peace wall running through his back garden, which separates his street from Short Strand. Pakistani forces responded by sending a sortie into Indian airspace and reportedly dropping bombs in J&K’s Poonch and Rajouri districts. In 1998, a peace deal known as the Good Friday Agreement was signed between the British and Irish governments and most political parties in Northern Ireland, but sectarian violence continued for many years. A new government appointed in late January has coincided with protests developing into more violent riots. His reformist agendas have been met with much applause from the international community. The son of a Brooklyn Supreme Court judge was arrested Tuesday in connection with last week's riot at the U.S. Capitol, a source familiar with the case confirmed to Fox News. Mexico is facing a deteriorating security situation and continues to experience unprecedented levels of criminal and… 2. Hours later, the IRGC accidentally shot down a Ukraine International Airlines plane and killed all 176 people on board, most of them Iranian citizens. United States: Developed, democratic political system at risk of turning violent. Although the Indian government has taken steps to scale back communication and security restrictions in Muslim-majority J&K, its policy towards India’s Kashmiri citizens has created more friction within an already tense relationship. Data on political violence and protest activity in Latin America and the Caribbean will be published in February 2020, at which point ACLED will begin releasing weekly real-time data updates for the region. During the same time period, a leader of a faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), a militant separatist group in Assam state, threatened a “massacre” of Bengali Hindus (Northeast Now, 26 October 2018) as a consequence of the passage of the CAA. ACLED records a significant increase in violent events across the LoC between Indian and Pakistani security forces in 2019 compared to previous years: 582 cross-border shelling and firing events were reported in 2019, compared to 349 in 2018. The World is a public radio program that crosses borders and time zones to bring home the stories that matter. A study by a German academic says religious conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa have been on the rise for decades. On the other hand, Taliban militants launched large offensives on a number of provincial capitals and against security forces to gain ground or consolidate their position. However, instead of accepting more concessions, Iran has adopted a policy of “maximum resistance” (Crisis Group, 5 November 2019). It has gained immense international attention given the fact that both India and Pakistan are nuclear powers and this conflict represents a threat to global security. Nevertheless, the international commitment has avoided further offensives by the National Resistance Forces on the western front as they seem to fear damage to their fragile reputation. © 2020 Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED). “The U.S. Role in the Sunni-Shi’ite Conflict,” Accessed March 6, 2020. Just a few streets up from Thompson lies the “Protestant enclave” — as many Belfast residents describe it — of Cluan Place, one of the most notorious loyalist areas in the city. If a US-Taliban deal is reached, a further phased withdrawal of US and NATO forces in exchange for security guarantees by the Taliban is to be expected. While major clashes on the Oromia-Somali regional state borders cooled significantly during 2019, new conflicts have arisen across the country. The current breakdown of the balance between the two sides could lead to an escalation of conflict across the region, albeit with different trajectories, as the STC has become an active player with different capabilities in all of the southern governorates. In the same vein, the apparent failure of the Riyadh Agreement to solve the southern issue seems to pit southern secessionists further and further against the Hadi government, resulting in the de facto establishment of a minimized southern state under the control of the STC in Aden, Lahij, and some parts of Abyan, Ad Dali, and Shabwah. In October 2019, an operation to capture the son of drug kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán in the city of Culiacan led to an intense 12-hour gun battle between the Sinaloa cartel and the Mexican security forces, prompting the federal government to release Ovidio Guzmán to avoid further escalation. His research centers on political violence and protest movements, and he previously worked to document human rights violations in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. In response to the inquiry, the President has ratcheted up his vitriolic rhetoric, which may further fuel political violence (NPR, 5 October 2019; Reuters, 18 December 2019). Iranian ruling elites consider their ties to regional armed groups, as well as Iran’s missile program, as essential parts of the country’s defense strategy. So much so that, in October 2019, a poll conducted by Georgetown University indicated that a majority of Americans believe the country is “two-thirds of the way” to outright civil war (New York Magazine, 25 October 2019). Additionally, pre-election campaigning in Bihar, as well as in states like West Bengal and Assam where legislative assembly elections are slated to be held in 2021, can be expected to produce more political violence. Before the vote, President Trump tweeted a quote suggesting that impeachment would cause a “Civil War like fracture in this Nation from which our Country will never heal” [sic] (The New Yorker, 5 October 2019), and he has increasingly indicated that any attempt to remove him from office — either in Congress or at the ballot box — will be considered illegitimate (Politico, 21 June 2019). Meanwhile, the outcome of the Rajya Sabha elections will be important in determining the extent of the BJP’s influence in parliament. In his role, he oversees the coding of political violence and protest events in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The growing threat posed by Islamist militant groups has attracted a number of foreign powers, with intersecting deployments of French, American, African, and EU troops all present in the region — adding to an already complex security situation. While the killings of journalists and government officials, beheadings, disappearances, and public hangings of corpses recurrently make headlines in Mexico, several particularly brutal attacks have raised concerns that the cartels are increasingly adopting insurgent techniques. Hadi enjoys the support of Saudi Arabia which, together with allies like the UAE, launched a military intervention in support of the government in March 2015 in order to prevent the Houthis from overtaking the southern port city of Aden. 2020 was the deadliest year since the crisis started in 2012, when Islamist militants overran northern Mali, plunging the region into protracted instability. The plan calls for both sides to unify under a new government and to restructure the security sector, but it has yet to be implemented as clashes have continued. Information about Religious conflict. Hayley Todd stands by a peace wall in the Short Strand neighborhood near the house where she grew up. Splinter factions of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) led by Jaal Marroo are accused of launching several attacks on regional officials and police forces in western Oromia (BBC Amharic, 2 December 2019). This development took place in conjunction with a withdrawal of Emirati forces from several southern governorates and a step-by-step handover of responsibility on the “southern question” to Saudi Arabia. Until this past weekend, however, the government was defunct for over three years after a row between the two major power-sharing parties: the majority Protestant and socially conservative Democratic Unionist Party, and majority Catholic Sinn Féin — once the Irish Republican Army’s political wing. Al Shabaab has also demonstrated its continued ability to launch sophisticated attacks on well-guarded targets, such as in a recent cross-border attack on the Manda Bay airfield in Kenya that resulted in the death of an American service member and two defense contractors (AFRICOM, 5 January 2020). The new decade started for Afghanistan with the Trump administration pushing ahead with plans to partially withdraw US troops “with or without” a peace deal with the Taliban (Al Jazeera, 17 December 2019). The US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) said in October 2019 that it had recorded more than 100,000 fatalities, including 12,000 civilians killed in direct attacks. “Regrettably, ongoing political uncertainty means that progress is being hampered. The attack led US President Donald Trump to announce that Mexican drug cartels would be designated as terrorist groups, though the plan was later put on hold. The vast majority of events involving gangs recorded by ACLED in 2019 were instances of violence against civilians. ACLED records over 23,000 deaths in 2019 stemming directly from the conflict — a 25% decrease in total reported fatalities from 2018, but still the second deadliest year of the war. These are the responsibilities of the relevant government departments and agencies who own the barriers and/or who have responsibility for regeneration programs. The President’s January 2020 decision to assassinate Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani has immediately increased the risk of attacks on US service people and citizens. Federalist agendas and the push for greater autonomy in Ethiopia’s regional states are already shaping the country’s political landscape ahead of the 2020 election (Africa News, 2 January 2020), amplifying tensions between ethnic groups. 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