The effects of war are widely spread and can be long-term or short-term. Soldiers experience war differently than civilians, although either suffer in times of war, and women and children suffer unspeakable atrocities in particular. In the past decade, up to two million of those killed in armed conflicts were children. The widespread trauma caused by these atrocities and suffering of the civilian population is another legacy of these conflicts, the following creates extensive emotional and psychological stress. Present-day internal wars generally take a larger toll on civilians than state wars. This is due to the increasing trend where combatants have made targeting civilians a strategic objective. A state conflict is an armed conflict that occurs with the use of armed force between two parties, of which one is the government of a state.
"The three problems posed by intra‐state conflict are the willingness of UN members, particularly the strongest member, to intervene; the structural ability of the UN to respond; and whether the traditional principles of peacekeeping should be applied to intra‐state conflict". Effects of war also include mass destruction of cities and have long lasting effects on a country's economy. Armed conflict has important indirect negative consequences on infrastructure, public health provision, and social order. These indirect consequences are often overlooked and unappreciated.
Educational
In times when a country is in an economic crisis there is an increase in poverty which results in the decline of education . Over half of the world's children that are out of school are forced to live in conflict-affected fragile states. According to the UNESCO report "The groups most negatively affected by conflict were those that suffered from multiple exclusion, for example based on gender, area of residence, household wealth, language, and ethnicity".One predominantly damaging, effect of conflict on education is the proliferation of attacks on schools with children, teachers and school buildings become the targets of violence.
Environment
War contributes to environmental degradation in two main ways. The first is direct effects of killing off native biota, the second is indirect effects of environment depriving species of resources needed to survive or even their entire habitat. For humans, the use of depleted uranium (DU) by the United States military during the Persian Gulf War drew claims that the deposited DU was the cause of a cancer cluster in Iraq’s southern regions. Furthermore due to the United States government’s authorization of the toxic defoliant Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, it is estimated by the Vietnamese government that 400,000 Vietnamese were either killed or maimed by it, 200,000 suffering from cancer, and 500,000 born with related birth defects.
Displacement
Displacement or forced migration results most often during a time of war and can adversely affect both the community and an individual. When a war breaks out, many people flee their homes in fear of losing their lives and their families, and as a result, they become misplaced either internally or externally.Those who are internally displaced face a direct threat because they do not receive the rights that a refugee may receive and are not eligible for protection under an international system. Victims of internal displacements are symptoms of war that are often motivated by communal hatred based on ethnic background, race, or religious views.
Infrastructure
Destruction of infrastructure can create a catastrophic collapse in the social interrelated structure, infrastructure services, education and health care system.Destruction of schools and educational infrastructure have led to a decline in education among many countries affected by war.If certain infrastructural elements are significantly damaged or destroyed, it can cause serious disruption of the other systems such as the economy.This includes loss of certain transportation routes in a city which could make it impossible for the economy to function properly infrastructure.