UN chief: 2 billion people live in conflict areas today

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations chief says one-quarter of humanity — two billion people — are living in conflict areas today and the world is facing the highest number of violent conflicts since 1945 when World War II ended. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres cited conflicts from Yemen, Syria, Myanmar and Sudan to Haiti, Africa’s Sahel, “and now the war in Ukraine.” He told the U.N. Peacebuilding Commission Wednesday that Ukraine is “a catastrophe shaking the foundations of the international order, spilling across borders and causing skyrocketing food, fuel and fertilizer prices that spell disaster for developing countries.”