The world's 15 worst war zones
1.) The death toll in the world's most brutal conflicts climbed by more than 28 percent last year from 2013 with bloodshed in Syria worse than all others for the second year running. More than 76,000 people were killed in Syria last year, up from 73,447 in 2013.
2.) Around 21,000 lives were lost in Iraq in the last year as the government fought with Islamic State.
Source: Reuters
3.) Approximately 14,638 were killed in Afghanistan, up from 10,172 in 2013.
Source: Reuters
4.) Nigeria was the fourth deadliest conflict with 11,529 fatalities. The intensifying conflict with Boko Haram resulted in almost three times those killed in 2013.
Source: Reuters
5.) Fighting between rebels and government forces in South Sudan killed 6,389 people last year. Both sides have been accused of ethnic-based atrocities, mass rapes, and using child soldiers in the world's newest nation.
Source: Reuters
6.) The conflict between Pakistan and the Pakistani Taliban killed 5,496 people. The Pakistani Taliban are allied with the Afghan militants of the same name and share a similar jihadist ideology, but they operate as a separate entity, focused on toppling the Pakistani state and establishing strict Islamic rule in the nuclear-armed nation.
Source: Reuters
7.) Fighting in Sudan killed 5,335 people last year. Sudan and South Sudan still remain among the world’s deadliest wars. If the countries had remained unified, the combined death toll would be higher than Afghanistan in the number three spot.
Source: Reuters
8.) Fighting in Ukraine took the lives of 4,707 people last year, a dramatic increase for a country at peace in 2013. Its death toll exceeded conflicts in Somalia, Libya, and Central African Republic.
Source: Reuters
9.) The conflict in Somalia killed 4,447, up from 3,153 in 2013. Al-Shabaab often targets official buildings and politicians in the capital Mogadishu in its efforts to topple the Western-backed government and impose its strict interpretation of Islam.
Source: Reuters
10.) Fighting in Central African Republic claimed 3,347 lives last year, up from 2,364 in 2013.
Source: Reuters
11.) Fighting between rival groups in Libya claimed 2,825 people last year, up from 643 in 2013. Islamist militants who have allied themselves to the Islamic State group that controls parts of Iraq and Syria have recently spread their reach in the divided country, posing a challenge to the Tripoli-based government and its allied factions which have engaged them in battle.
Source: Reuters
12.) The Israel-Palestinian conflict claimed 2,365 lives last year, a massive increase in the region following 2013.
Source: Reuters
13.) Fighting in Yemen claimed 1,500 lives last year, up from 600 in 2013. The advance of the Iranian-backed Houthis into the capital in September and to other regions, mainly in central and eastern Yemen, has been met with resistance from armed Sunni tribes, some of whom are backed by al Qaeda militants.
Source: Reuters
14.) Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo claimed 1,235 lives, down from 1,976 in 2013.
Source: Reuters
15.) Conflict in India claimed 976 lives last year, up from 885 in 2013.
Source: Reuters
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