The tension between the West and Russia over Ukraine, the future of Afghanistan after the return of the Taliban, the endemic crisis in Haiti, the struggle between the United States and China or the expansion of Jihadism in the Sahel, are some of the conflicts that centered the global attention in 2021 and that they will continue to be at the forefront in 2022 in search of solutions.
There are many international fronts open, but here we select the ten most important:
Ukraine
The conflict between Kiev and Moscow following the annexation of the Crimean peninsula, belonging to Ukraine, in 2014, to Russia continues to this day and will surely remain one of the big issues in the new year.
During these, Western countries have established different sanctions against Russia, and both the United States and the European Union have maintained them. In a telephone conversation on Thursday, US President Joe Biden made it clear to Russian Vladimir Putin that his country and allies will respond decisively if Russia invades more of Ukraine.
Afghanistan
In addition to Ukraine, after almost two decades of US occupation, the Taliban seized power in Kabul on August 15, culminating a rapid offensive that led them to control the capitals of 33 of the 34 Afghan provinces in just ten days.
Since then, he has faced growing threats from the presence of the jihadist group Islamic State (IS), which has increased its attacks since the withdrawal of US troops, in addition to the withdrawal of economic aid and international abandonment.
Yemen
The Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia began its intervention in the Yemeni conflict on March 25, 2015 with the aim of restoring power to the president, Abdo Rabu Mansur Hadi, expelled by the Houthi rebels.
The conflict, which started earlier, in the first months of 2011, is at a standstill. This year, US President Joe Biden announced the suspension of his aid to the international coalition and since the end of June the most important clashes have centered in the oil province of Marib.
Haiti
Almost six months after the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise at his residence in Port-au-Prince, the investigations seem stalled and little has been clarified beyond attributing the responsibility to a mercenary command that met no resistance from the presidential security.
The assassination of Moise further deepened the deep political crisis in which Haiti has been involved for years, increased by a strong insecurity in the streets and the increase in murders and kidnappings at the hands of neighborhood gangs called gangs, who have made them a lucrative business.
United States-China
After the arrival of Democrat Joe Biden to the presidency of the United States, very little has changed the relations between the United States and China in 2021. The new president decided to maintain and expand the measures against the Asian country led by his predecessor, Donald Trump.
Among those measures, Biden decided to prohibit US investments in a dozen Chinese defense and technology companies with alleged military ties, which affected 59 firms, including the giant Huawei and the nation’s three largest telecommunications companies.
United States / Israel-Iran
Israel and the United States end 2021 with the aim of developing a common strategy on regional security issues, particularly regarding Iran’s nuclear plan. It was discussed at the meeting held on December 22 by the Israeli Prime Minister, Naftali Benet, and the US National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan.
The meeting was held in the middle of the multilateral negotiations to save the nuclear agreement with Iran, which should limit the atomic activities of the Islamic Republic, and which closed the year with no immediate agreement in sight, but with a commitment to resume the next day. 3 in Vienna.
Israel Palestine
The military escalation between Israel and the Palestinian militias in the Gaza Strip in May 2021 was closed with a ceasefire managed by Egypt and international mediators but without a prolonged truce to guarantee some peace in the area.
Although there have been no major rounds of hostilities since then, the situation is still volatile and the threat of a new conflict is latent, something that is of particular concern to civilians on both sides of the border.
Jihadism in Africa
This 2021 was marked by jihadist attacks, which surprised by their new virulence in countries such as Mozambique, where the group Al Shabab -without relation to its namesake- intensified its attacks; or the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a group of Ugandan origin and diffuse ties with the Islamic State (IS), caused numerous accidents.
Africa will therefore have to face in 2022 the renewed scourge of jihadist terrorism in countries such as Mozambique, the DRC and Uganda, as well as prevent the advance of established groups in nations such as Somalia, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Niger. and Mali.
Ethiopia
In Ethiopia, the tiger rebels and the federal government agreed to take a step back in December in the war they have been waging since November 2020: the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigré (FPLT) announced its withdrawal from other neighboring areas, while the Executive stopped the advance of his troops towards Tigré.
However, it is still not clear whether both parties will agree to start a dialogue in 2022 and seek a peaceful solution to a conflict that has already left a devastating toll: thousands of deaths, more than two million displaced and more than 9.4 million people. people in need of humanitarian assistance.