31.   Macke said he did not foresee China escalating the conflict into a military confrontation.

32.   Neumann, who is opposed to sending U.S. troops to the region, said the embargo should stay in place to avoid escalating the conflict.

33.   On Wednesday, Russian officials again claimed they escalated the conflict because hostages were being killed.

34.   On Wednesday, Russian officials again claimed that they escalated the conflict because hostages were being killed.

35.   President Alberto Fujimori said Friday that a U.S.-backed anti-drug initiative in Colombia could escalate guerrilla conflict to the point of threatening regional stability.

36.   Rights groups have opposed the aid, fearing it will escalate the conflict and help paramilitaries tied to the Colombian army.

37.   Russia warned Croatian President Franjo Tudjman on Monday to back off from escalating the conflict in the former Yugoslavia, a senior Russian diplomat was quoted as saying.

38.   Rwandan Hutu refugees, many of them armed, have been joining forces with Rwandan immigrants already in the area, escalating conflict with the Hunde native Zairean tribe.

39.   Singh said India has no intention of escalating the conflict, even though its navy is on alert in the Arabian Sea following a naval buildup by Pakistan.

40.   Syrian state-run newspaper Tishrin said Israel would not have escalated the conflict in Lebanon without U.S. support.