German study counts six wars in 2010

Dec 15, 2010, 15:02 GMT

Berlin - Six wars took place this year- two fewer than in 2009 - according to a German academic study published Wednesday.

The report, by the Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research (HIIK), counted a total of 28 highly violent conflicts, which is also a decline of two from 2009.

The list of wars, based on levels of violence, included the ongoing conflicts in Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

New in the 2010 list were the conflicts in Mexico and the Sudanese region of Darfur. In turn, the analysts scaled down their definition of violence in Sri Lanka, Yemen and Israel, as well as skirmishes between Taliban fighters and tribal militia in Pakistan.

'Despite the drop in conflicts, we cannot speak or a relaxation, or of more peaceful global tendencies,' said HIIK board member Lotta Meyer.

'We are no longer talking of wars, but in most cases they are still highly violent crises,' Meyer added.

The only country where the conflict had significantly scaled back was Sri Lanka, the report found.

The institute at Heidelberg University has published its annual 'conflict barometer' since 1991. By that measure, highly violent conflicts peaked in 1992 at 51.

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