November rain

The International Crisis Group has been issuing monthly reports tracking the escalation or dissolution of conflicts around the world for the past 40 months. So, it's extremely sad to report that, with the month ending yesterday, November 2006 is the worst month for conflict since ICG first began issuing reports in 2002. Iraq experienced its ...

The International Crisis Group has been issuing monthly reports tracking the escalation or dissolution of conflicts around the world for the past 40 months. So, it's extremely sad to report that, with the month ending yesterday, November 2006 is the worst month for conflict since ICG first began issuing reports in 2002. Iraq experienced its worst sectarian violence since the U.S. invaded in 2003. The Lebanese government is on increasingly shaky ground. The peace deal in Sudan has been seriously threatened by new slaughter, and fighting in Darfur is spilling over into Chad and the Central African Republic. The president and prime minister are fighting in Cote d'Ivoire. A coup is on the horizon in Fiji. And there are problems brewing in Azerbaijan, Burundi, Colombia, non-Kashmiri India, and Tonga. (Not that there isn't a little bit of a silver lining in this grim world: Maoist rebels and the Nepalese government finally signed a peace deal after 10 years of war.) Here's hoping that December will see better days.

The International Crisis Group has been issuing monthly reports tracking the escalation or dissolution of conflicts around the world for the past 40 months. So, it's extremely sad to report that, with the month ending yesterday, November 2006 is the worst month for conflict since ICG first began issuing reports in 2002. Iraq experienced its worst sectarian violence since the U.S. invaded in 2003. The Lebanese government is on increasingly shaky ground. The peace deal in Sudan has been seriously threatened by new slaughter, and fighting in Darfur is spilling over into Chad and the Central African Republic. The president and prime minister are fighting in Cote d'Ivoire. A coup is on the horizon in Fiji. And there are problems brewing in Azerbaijan, Burundi, Colombia, non-Kashmiri India, and Tonga. (Not that there isn't a little bit of a silver lining in this grim world: Maoist rebels and the Nepalese government finally signed a peace deal after 10 years of war.) Here's hoping that December will see better days.

Christine Y. Chen is a senior editor at Foreign Policy.

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