Armed groups on the rise: how battlefield dynamics are changing
New figures show there are both more conflicts and more sides within each one

More non-state armed groups have emerged in the past six years than in the previous six decades, according to new research from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The Geneva-based humanitarian organisation also found that the number of non-international armed conflicts more than doubled from the beginning of the century.
“Not only are there more conflicts, but there are more sides in a conflict,” adds the ICRC in a report on its website.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
About a third of clashes today are between two parties, nearly half are between three to nine parties, and a quarter feature more than ten parties in the warring territory.
By the end of the Libyan war in October 2011, 236 separate armed groups were registered in the city of Misrata alone. In Syria, more than 1,000 armed groups were counted in 2014.
“We’re seeing a high level of fragmentation,” says Clionadh Raleigh, professor of political geography and conflict at the University of Sussex.
“There has been a loosening of rules around violence generally, a loosening of order,” Raleigh adds, in quotes reported by The New York Times.
The continued rise of local factions, each structured in different ways but frequently with less top-down control, causes a problem for organisations such as the ICRC, who would normally advise military commanders on international humanitarian law and rely on them to enforce the rules.
“In this new labyrinth of non-state and state-sponsored fighters, humanitarian workers have a harder time reaching wounded soldiers and civilians and protecting their own staff members,” says the US newspaper. “They are also finding it more challenging to teach the non-state fighters about the Geneva Conventions and how those laws of warfare should apply to them.”
In a newly released study, The Roots of Restraint in War, the ICRC says that the new battlefield dynamic makes influencing warring groups more difficult but not impossible.
The report recommends that humanitarian workers find culturally specific ways of getting their message across. A case study in South Sudan looked at the impact of speaking to local prophets who hold sway within the community, or using local customs as analogies for humanitarian law.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - March 29, 2025
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - my way or Norway, running orders, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 tactically sound cartoons about the leaked Signal chat
Cartoons Artists take on the clown signal, baby steps, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Roast lamb shoulder with ginger and fresh turmeric recipe
The Week Recommends Succulent and tender and falls off the bone with ease
By The Week UK Published
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
By Abby Wilson Published
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Is the pro-Assad insurgency a threat to the new Syria?
Today's Big Question Interim leader accuses regime loyalists and 'foreign backers' of trying to 'divide and destroy' the country
By The Week UK Published
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?
The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliament
THE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Who is the Hat Man? 'Shadow people' and sleep paralysis
In Depth 'Sleep demons' have plagued our dreams throughout the centuries, but the explanation could be medical
By The Week Staff Published
-
The challenge facing Syria's Alawites
Under The Radar Minority sect that was favoured under Assad now fears for its future
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Islamic State: the terror group's second act
Talking Point Isis has carried out almost 700 attacks in Syria over the past year, according to one estimate
By The Week UK Published