BRUSSELS, June 2 (UPI) -- A surge in violence in the capital of war-torn Somalia topped the monthly CrisisWatch report on conflict situations around the world.
According to the Belgium-based non-governmental organization's monthly report the volatile situation in Mogadishu, Somalia, was among nine actual or potential conflict situations that deteriorated in May, the Crisis Group reported.
Somalia, a country without a functioning government for more than two decades, faced intense fighting in May that resulted in an estimated 200 civilians casualties. Tensions in nearby Chad and Sudan to the west of Somalia also escalated in May. Officials say Sudan's Darfur region bordering Chad was the site of a spike in rebel violence despite an agreement between the two countries to cease hostilities.
The report also cited a deterioration of the conditions for civilians in Pakistan where a conflict with the Taliban continues to escalate. Additionally the CrisisWatch report listed hostilities in Nigeria, the nuclear test in North Korea, and the "situations in Guatemala, Myanmar and Niger (that) also saw significant deteriorations in May," a news release said.
