Seeking refuge from humanitarian interventions

Over a million migrants and asylum seekers sought refuge in Europe in 2015 – a record which sent the migration crisis to the forefront of the political and social agenda. Behind the crisis lie the large-scale internal conflicts or armed rebellions in countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia and Iraq. But in order to fully understand why so many are fleeing their native countries, we must examine the causes in more detail – looking in particular at the exponential increase in attacks on civilians, not just by internal parties, but also by third party states, both requested and unsolicited.