2013's Conflicts In 21 Powerful Images (PHOTOS)

LOOK: This Year's Conflicts In 21 Powerful Images

As we look back at the major events of 2013, the theme of conflict occurs again and again. Though the world avoided U.S. military intervention in Syria and the war in Afghanistan nears its drawdown, conflicts big and small raged on around the globe. Here's a look at 2013's conflicts in images. Take a look at the slideshow below for a larger set of full-resolution photos.

WARNING: Some of these images may be disturbing.

1
Eduardo Verdugo/AP
A police officer is engulfed in flames after being hit by a Molotov cocktail thrown by protesters marking the anniversary of the Tlatelolco massacre in Mexico City, Wednesday Oct. 2, 2013. Mexico commemorated the 45th anniversary of the massacre of students holding an anti-government protest ten days before the 1968 Summer Olympics celebrations in Mexico City. (Eduardo Verdugo/AP)
2
Victor R. Caivano/AP
A military police pepper sprays a protester during a demonstration in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, June 17, 2013. (Victor R. Caivano/AP)
3
AP
An injured Cambodian worker escapes from riot police in the compound of a Buddhist pagoda in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013. (AP)
4
Khalil Hamra / AP
Egyptian protesters drag a wounded Muslim Brotherhood supporter during clashes between supporters and opponents of Egypt’s powerful Muslim Brotherhood near the Islamist group’s headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, March 22, 2013. (Khalil Hamra / AP)
5
Sayyid Azim/AP
A body, left, lies outside the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, Saturday Sept. 21 2013. (Sayyid Azim/AP)
6
Schalk van Zuydam, AP
A South African policeman, left, fires a rubber bullet at striking farm workers as they demonstrate in De Doorns, South Africa, Thursday, Jan 10, 2013. (Schalk van Zuydam, AP)
7
Aly Hazzaa, El Shorouk Newspaper/AP
A police vehicle falls off of the 6th of October bridge close to the largest sit-in by supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in the eastern Nasr City district of Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2013. (Aly Hazzaa, El Shorouk Newspaper/AP)
8
Dieu Nalio Chery/AP
A police officer uses his baton to beat back supporters of Haiti's former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide who gathered outside the courthouse in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where Aristide arrived earlier in the day on Wednesday, May 8, 2013. The two-time president showed up at the courthouse to testify before a judge investigating the 2000 slaying of Jean Dominique, one of the Caribbean country's most prominent journalists. (Dieu Nalio Chery/AP)
9
Hussein Malla/AP
Lebanese citizens and Hezbollah supporters gather at the scene of a car bomb explosion in southern Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday Aug. 15, 2013. The powerful car bomb ripped through a southern Beirut neighborhood that is a stronghold of the militant group Hezbollah. (Hussein Malla/AP)
10
Andres Kudacki/AP
Police clash with demonstrators during a protest against austerity measures near the Spanish Parliament in Madrid, Spain, Thursday April 25, 2013. (Andres Kudacki/AP)
11
Hassan Ammar/AP
A military attack helicopter flies over a street near the presidential palace, in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, July 5, 2013 days after the ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi. (Hassan Ammar/AP)
12
Peter Muhly / AFP / Getty Images
A man throws a piece of furniture during clashes between loyalist protesters and riot police in North Belfast, Northern Ireland on July 13, 2013. (Peter Muhly / AFP / Getty Images)
13
Victor R. Caivano/AP
Military police detain a man during an anti-government protest in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, June 20, 2013. (Victor R. Caivano/AP)
14
AP
Turkish protesters clash with riot police at the city's main Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, June 1, 2013. (AP)
15
Hasan Jamali / AP
A Bahraini anti-government protester is engulfed in flames when a shot fired by riot police hit the petrol bomb in his hand during clashes in Sanabis, Bahrain, Thursday, March 14, 2013. (Hasan Jamali / AP)
16
Bernat Armangue / AP
Masked Palestinians use a back car seat as a shield during a protest in support of Palestinian prisoners, outside an Israeli military prison near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013. (Bernat Armangue / AP)
17
Khalil Hamra, AP
Egyptian riot police fire tear gas at protesters demonstrating in front of the presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Feb. 1, 2013. (Khalil Hamra, AP)
18
Khalil Hamra, AP
An Egyptian protester evacuates an injured boy during clashes near Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Jan. 25, 2013. (Khalil Hamra, AP)
19
Keshav Singh, Hindustan Times / Getty Images
Police using water canon on BJP workers who are protesting against India's Home minister Sushilkumar Shinde’s Hindu Terror remark on January 24, 2012 in Chandigarh, India. Home minister Shinde has alleged that the BJP and RSS were behind terror attacks by extremists during a Congress Conclave in the city of Jaipur. (Keshav Singh, Hindustan Times / Getty Images)
20
Ahmad Jamshid, AP
Afghan security and intelligence check a dead body at the scene after an attack by militants in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013. (Ahmad Jamshid, AP)
21
Ben Curtis, AP
A Chadian soldier wearing reflective sunglasses observes the convoy ahead of him, as Chadian soldiers who are fighting in support of the president of the Central African Republic ride on the road leading to Damara, Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013. (Ben Curtis, AP)

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