Many of the conflicts and wars around the world today are under-reported in the international media. In this new Observer Worldview series, leading analysts from the International Crisis Group, stationed on the ground in many of the world's trouble-spots, will report each month on one of these hidden conflicts, explaining its causes and consequences, and setting out what local and international actors can do to resolve the crisis. You can email site editor Sunder Katwala at observer@guardianunlimited.co.uk with comments or ideas for Worldview pieces, and you can contact the International Crisis Group at icgbrussels@crisisweb.org
Observer Worldview
This week's Observer international news
International Crisis Group (external link)
How to secure peace in Liberia
The international community must take urgent action to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe spreading across West Africa, say Gareth Evans and Comfort Ero of the International Crisis Group. (29 June 2003)
Iraq's summer war
Joost Hilterman and Katy Cronin of the International Crisis Group warn that faltering attempts to meet basic Iraqi needs could turn simmering discontent into widespread and active opposition. (22 June 2003)
There will be no excuses for not knowing
After three million deaths, the situation in Congo could get worse still. Will the world again stand by and fail to act until it is too late, asks Francois Grignon of the International Crisis Group. (25 May 2003)
Hard Times in the Himalayas
Unseen Wars: Continuing our regular online series examining under-reported conflicts around the world, John H Norris of the International Crisis Group asks whether Nepal will plunge a volatile region back into conflict. (13 April 2003)
Lessons from Kosovo
There are many lessons to be learnt about post-war reconstruction from the west's experience in Kosovo. But the current crisis also means we risk overlooking unfinished business elsewhere, say Val Percival and James Lyon of the International Crisis Group. (23 February 2002)
Missed opportunities for peace
World leaders haven't learnt the lessons of previous failures in tackling the most urgent global crises, says Gareth Evans, President of the International Crisis Group (26 January 2003).
Remember South Lebanon
Unseen Wars: There was a time when South Lebanon was rarely out of the international headlines. Forgetting it could prove dangerous, says Reinoud Leenders, in the latest in our series on under-reported conflicts around the world (24 November 2002).
Who are the terrorists in Indonesia?
After the Bali bomb: Conspiracy theories over the Bali bombing are rife in Indonesia, finds Sidney Jones of the International Crisis Group (27 October 2002).
Aceh: Indonesia's war that won't go away
Unseen Wars: Indonesia is deciding whether to declare a state of emergency in Aceh. Sidney Jones warns that this would be likely to make a brutal war worse (4 August 2002).
Crisis in Kyrgyzstan
David Lewis looks at how mass protests at increasingly authoritarian rule could escalate dangerously in a country previously seen as a rare oasis of regional calm (1 September 2002).
Hollow peace hopes in shattered Congo
Unseen Wars: With nearly half of Congo's territory occupied by foreign forces and faltering peace efforts, the chances of it holding together as a nation have never looked so slim, says Fabienne Hara (7 July 2002)
More on Congo
Africa's peace offensive remains a mirage
Richard Dowden explains why a failure to solve old problems threatens to dash recent ceasefire hopes (4 August 2002)..
How to secure the peace in Africa
Africa's fragile peace agreements could easily be derailed. The Observer asked leading experts in Africa and their west to outline what African states and the international community could do to make the peace hopes a reality (4 August 2002).
President Uribe's Colombian challenge
Unseen Wars: Mark L. Schneider of the International Crisis Group on whether the new President can hope to end Colombia's 40-year war (9 June 2002).
Sudan's last fighting season?
In the first piece in the series John Prendergast examines Sudan's civil war, which has lasted 19 years and claimed over 2 million lives, and asks whether the best chance to end the conflict for a generation can be seized (12 May 2002)
More on Sudan
Aid workers under fire in Sudan
As Sudan's civil war reaches its deadliest phase, the humanitarian aid agencies working in the county are increasingly coming under attack. The government wants to prevent the world hearing about the conflict, says aid worker Sam Farmar (7 July 2002)
Sam Farmar: The forgotten people of Sudan
Jumping the gun: Sudan's Olympics
Sudan has been at war for the worst part of the last 50 years. Its people have endured bombing, slave traders and pillaging troops. But they have found a way to rebuild their shattered lives - through sport. In this Observer Sport Monthly special report, Paul Harris watched the Twic Olympics, the world's most inspiring sporting event (3 March 2002).
Sudan's stolen children
The southern Dinka tribe can name more than 14,000 children abducted by Arabs in the past decade; many will have passed through one dusty, cattle-town. James Astill reports on the alarming rise of child-snatching (3 March 2002).
How to solve the Middle East crisis
Former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans argues that international efforts in the Middle East are doomed to failure unless we reverse the conventional wisdom by agreeing on a detailed blueprint for the settlement which the two sides are unwilling to negotiate for themselves.
Worldview: more on the Middle East
Worldview highlights: Peter Beaumont in the Middle East
The myth of the good general Musharraf
General Musharraf is telling western leaders exactly what they want to hear. But the West's new engagement with Pakistan is based on some dangerous misconceptions - and could easily backfire, argue Samina Ahmed and John Norris of International Crisis Group.
International Crisis Group (external link)
Observer International
This week's international news from The Observer.
Observer Worldview
The best of The Observer's international reportage, commentary and analysis, including exclusive online commentary.
Press freedom campaign
Journalists from around the world on their struggles to report the truth.
Terrorism crisis
The best of The Observer's coverage of the War on Terrorism in the wake of September 11th.
