RI among 1999's top hot spots

RI among 1999's top hot spots

WASHINGTON (AP): Iraq, Central Africa and Colombia are expected to be among the 10 most serious areas of conflict and political instability the world will face in 1999, a humanitarian organization said Friday.

World Vision also cited Angola, Sudan, North Korea, Indonesia, the Balkans, Ethiopia/Eritrea and India/Pakistan in its listing of 10 "global hot spot." None of the nations or regions was ranked.

"Regrettably, we tend to view the future as projections of the past," said Dayton Maxwell, a senior policy advisor for World Vision, a relief and development organization serving 60 million people in nearly 100 countries.

Humanitarian organizations are carefully evaluating the impact of the air and missile strikes against Iraq, said Maxwell. The possibility of a post Saddam Hussein Iraq poses significant challenges for international relief and development agencies, he added.

Maxwell also noted that more "interstate conflicts" are emerging. In Central Africa, for example, internal stability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is compounded by the involvement of surrounding nations, such as Angola, Rwanda and Uganda.