1. Major armed conflicts

Summary

In 1995, 30 major armed conflicts were waged in 25 locations
around the world. The comparative figures were 32 and 28, respectively,
in 1994, and 36 and 32 in 1989, the last year of the cold war.

As in 1994, all the major armed conflicts in 1995 were
internal rather than between states. However, foreign forces were involved
in some intra-state conflicts, in the sense that their regular troops were
involved in the fighting—in Tajikistan (Russian/Commonwealth of Independent
States [CIS] forces were used against the opposition), Liberia (the Economic
Organization of West African States Monitoring Group peacekeeping forces
were involved), and Bosnia and Herzegovina (troops from Croatia reinforced
the Bosnian Army in battles with Bosnian Serb forces).

Only one conflict—that in Bosnia and Herzegovina—was
ended during the year through a comprehensive peace treaty which included
military and civilian provisions as well as ways of addressing the incompatibilities
behind the conflict. A second conflict—that between the Croatian Government
and the Croatian Serbs—ended with military victories and a peace agreement.

As in previous years, there were a number of cases of non-governmental
actors fighting each other, often in addition to an ongoing conflict between
a government and non-governmental parties—in Afghanistan, northern Iraq,
India (Kashmir), Liberia, Myanmar, Somalia and Sudan.

There is a visible trend in the relative prominence of
the key issues in major armed conflicts: more conflicts are now fought over
territory than over government control.

Appendix
1A. Major armed conflicts, 1995

MARGARETA SOLLENBERG, RAMSES AMER, CARL JOHAN ÅSBERG, MARGARETA ELIASSON, MARY JANE FOX, ANN-SOFI JAKOBSSON, KJELL-ÅKE NORDQUIST, THOMAS OHLSON, ANNA SCHNELL AND PETER WALLENSTEEN

Appendix 1A gives data on the major armed conflicts of 1995.