Mexico Now World's Deadliest Conflict Zone After Syria: Survey
- At 23,000 dead, gang war toll overtakes Iraq and Afghanistan
- Worldwide conflict losses down slightly, but outlook bleak
A person rides a bicycle past Nayarit police officers blocking off an area near where forces killed Juan Francisco Patrón Sánchez (known locally as H2), leader of the Beltran Leyva Cartel, the night before in the Nayarit capital of Tepic, Mexico, on Feb. 10, 2017.
Photographer: Cesar Rodriguez/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Mexico has surpassed Iraq and Afghanistan to become the world’s second-most deadly conflict zone after Syria, according to a study of wars around the globe.
The number of fatalities from the expanding war among Mexico’s criminal cartels grew to 23,000 in 2016, compared with 17,000 in Afghanistan and 16,000 in Iraq, according to the annual Armed Conflict Survey by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.