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Iraq (The Yazidis)
The Yazidis are an ancient ethnic and religious minority who live primarily in the Nineveh Province of Northern Iraq. In August 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) launched a coordinated assault on the Yazidi homeland of Sinjar. Thousands of young women were kidnapped as sex slaves, and thousands of men and older women were murdered.
The genocide was thought to affect nearly half of the global Yazidi population of about 1 million people, most of whom lived until recently in the Middle East. The entire Yazidi population of Sinjar — about 400,000 people — was displaced. Most remain in internally displaced persons camps in Iraqi Kurdistan or in makeshift camps atop Mount Sinjar, the arid mountain range where they fled the ISIS attack. Others fled Iraq entirely, ending up in poorly equipped refugee camps in Greece.
Burma/Myanmar (The Rohingya)
The Rohingya are a predominantly Muslim ethnic group living in Burma’s western Rakhine State. They are effectively stateless, being denied citizenship in both Burma and Bangladesh.
United Nations describes them as one of the world’s most persecuted groups. The Rohingya face persecution both at the hands of government militias and by the Buddhist majority.
Rohingya militants – Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA)
Syria Civil War
In early 2011, Syrians began a peaceful uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The Assad regime cracked down with extreme violence, which escalated into civil war. Initially, the main parties in the conflict were the Assad regime versus the Free Syrian Army (FSA), the democratic opposition.
Islamist extremist groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State soon entered the war, and the FSA struggled to preserve its influence.
Hezbollah, a militant Islamist party based in Lebanon, began fighting on behalf of the Assad regime, and Kurdish militias took a more active role in the conflict in an attempt to establish and protect their own territory.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Armed conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the world’s deadliest conflict since World War II, with over 5.4 million people dead and more than three million displaced since violence broke out in the mid-1990s. Civilians have suffered the most, victim to both direct violence and secondary effects of the conflict, such as disease and hunger.
Armed groups and the Congolese army use rape and other forms of sexual violence as a weapon of war, instilling widespread fear among civilians and fracturing communities.
Natural resources such as minerals, many of which are found in our electronic devices and jewelry, have fueled and continue to sustain violence in Congo. These resources are known as conflict minerals.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the largest country in Subsaharan Africa.
South Sudan
In December 2013, South Sudan was plunged into civil war. This conflict quickly took on an ethnic dimension, pitting ethnic Dinkas loyal to President Salva Kiir (a Dinka) against ethnic Nuers loyal to former Vice President Riek Machar (a Nuer).
The conflict resulted in widespread mass atrocities (crimes against humanity, war crimes, and possibly even genocide), the deaths of at least 50,000 South Sudanese, the displacement of over two million, and over five million people at risk of severe food insecurity at near famine levels.
South Kordofan & Blue Nile , Nuba Mountains ,Sudan
The CPA(Comprehensive Peace Agreement), which ended Sudan’s civil war between the government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M) and prompted the 2011 independence of South Sudan, placed the regions of South Kordofan and Blue Nile (also known as ‘the Two Areas’) within the borders of Sudan; though many in those regions identified with and fought alongside the South. Factions of the SPLA remained in those regions calling themselves the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N).
Darfur Genocide, Sudan
The first genocide of the 21st century, the Darfur genocide has caused the deaths of approximately 400,000 Darfuris, and displaced more than three million people.
In February 2003 , two rebel groups—the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA)—rose up against the Khartoum government claiming years of inequitable treatment and economic marginalization, among other grievances. The rebellion, led mainly by non-Arab Muslim sedentary tribes, including the Fur and Zaghawa, was orchestrated against the mainly Arab government. Instead of directly attacking the rebel forces, the government launched a widespread campaign to “get at the fish by draining the sea”, and targeted non-Arab tribes in the region, regardless of whether they were civilians or rebel forces.
The government unleashed Arab militias known as the Janjaweed (“evil men on horseback”) to carry out attacks on villages and destroy communities.
Conflict Between Turkey and Armed Kurdish Groups
Approximately thirty million Kurds live in the Middle East—primarily in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey—and the Kurds comprise nearly one-fifth of Turkey’s .
The PKK, established by Abdullah Ocalan in 1978, has waged an insurgency since 1984 against Turkish authorities for greater cultural and political rights, primarily with the objective of establishing an independent Kurdish state. The ongoing conflict has resulted in nearly forty thousand deaths.
Beyond Turkey, Syrian Kurdish fighters have been combating the Islamic State, largely as part of the SDF—an alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters backed by the United States—and have created a semi-autonomous region in Northern Syria.
Lebanon and Operation Northern Shield by Israel
In May 2018, Lebanon held its first parliamentary elections in nine years and Hezbollah—a Shiite political party and militant organization backed by Iran and designated by the United States as a terrorist group—increased its share of seats to 53 percent. Despite elections having taken place months earlier, Lebanese politicians were not able to break political gridlock and form a unity government until January 2019.
Tensions between Israel and Lebanon recently increased after the discovery of tunnels, allegedly dug by Hezbollah, leading from Lebanon into Israel.
Israel launched Operation Northern Shield in December 2018 in response to the discovery, and the UN Interim Forces in Lebanon confirmed that at least two of the tunnels violate a 2006 cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah.
Ukraine and Crimea
The crisis in Ukraine began with protests in the capital city of Kiev in November 2013 against Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s decision to reject a deal for greater economic integration with the European Union. After a violent crackdown by state security forces unintentionally drew an even greater number of protesters and escalated the conflict, President Yanukovych fled the country in February 2014.
In March 2014, Russian troops took control of Ukraine’s Crimean region, before formally annexing the peninsula after Crimeans voted to join the Russian Federation in a disputed local referendum.
Minsk Accords
Since February 2015, France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine have attempted to broker a cessation in violence through the Minsk Accords. The agreement includes provisions for a cease-fire, withdrawal of heavy weaponry, and full Ukrainian government control throughout the conflict zone. However, efforts to reach a diplomatic settlement and satisfactory resolution have been unsuccessful.
Boko Haram in Nigeria
Since 2011, Boko Haram—one of the largest Islamist militant groups in Africa—has conducted terrorist attacks on religious and political groups, local police, and the military, as well as indiscriminately attacking civilians in busy markets and villages.
As the largest African oil producer, the stability of Nigeria is important to regional security and U.S. economic interests.
Yemen Civil War -Houthi Rebels
Yemen’s civil war began in 2014 when Houthi insurgents—Shiite rebels with links to Iran and a history of rising up against the Sunni government—took control of Yemen’s capital and largest city, Sana’a, demanding lower fuel prices and a new government. Following failed negotiations, the rebels seized the presidential palace in January 2015, leading President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi and his government to resign. Beginning in March 2015, a coalition of Gulf states led by Saudi Arabia launched a campaign of economic isolation and air strikes against the Houthi insurgents, with U.S. logistical and intelligence support.
Civil War in Libya
The UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) declared a state of emergency in Libya’s capital city of Tripoli in September 2018, less than a week after a UN cease-fire went into effect. Attempts to create a unity government have met with limited success as the House of Representatives (HoR)—based in Libya’s east and a key supporter of Libyan National Army’s (LNA) leader General Khalifa Haftar—and the GNA compete for power. Both governing bodies have created their own central banks and have consolidated control over oil fields.
Taking advantage of the widespread political instability, armed Islamist groups, including Ansar al-Sharia—the terrorist group allegedly responsible for the attack on the U.S. consulate in 2012—and the Islamic State, have used the country as a hub to coordinate broader regional violence, further complicating efforts to create a unity government.
Territorial Disputes in the South China Sea
China’s sweeping claims of sovereignty over the sea—and the sea’s estimated 11 billion barrels of untapped oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas—have antagonized competing claimants Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. As early as the 1970s, countries began to claim islands and various zones in the South China Sea, such as the Spratly Islands, which possess rich natural resources and fishing areas.
China maintains that, under international law, foreign militaries are not able to conduct intelligence-gathering activities, such as reconnaissance flights, in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). According to the United States, claimant countries, under UN Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), should have freedom of navigation through EEZs in the sea and are not required to notify claimants of military activities. In July 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague issued its ruling on a claim brought against China by the Philippines under UNCLOS, ruling in favor of the Philippines on almost every count. While China is a signatory to the treaty, which established the tribunal, it refuses to accept the court’s authority.
In addition to piling sand onto existing reefs, China has constructed ports, military installations, and airstrips—particularly in the Paracel and Spratly Islands, where it has twenty and seven outposts, respectively. China has militarized Woody Island by deploying fighter jets, cruise missiles, and a radar system.
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict dates back to the end of the nineteenth century, primarily as a conflict over territory. After the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, the Holy Land was divided into three parts: the State of Israel, the West Bank (of the Jordan River), and the Gaza Strip. Successive wars resulted in minor shifts of territory until the Yom Kippur War in October 1973, when Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel because of Israel’s occupation of the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. The conflict was calmed by the Camp David Accords in 1979, which bound Egypt and Israel in a peace treaty.
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip conducted weekly demonstrations between March 30 and May 15, 2018, at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. The final protest coincided with the seventieth anniversary of the Nakba, the Palestinian exodus that accompanied Israeli independence, as well as the relocation of the U.S. embassy to the contested city of Jerusalem. While most of the protesters were peaceful, some stormed the perimeter fence and threw rocks and other objects. According to the United Nations, 183 demonstrators were killed and over 6,000 wounded by live ammunition.
Fatah and Hamas– rival factions in Palestine.
Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
Nagorno-Karabakh—the border region claimed by both Armenia and Azerbaijan—is at risk of renewed hostilities due to the failure of mediation efforts, increased militarization, and frequent cease-fire violations. In October 2017, the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan met in Geneva under the auspices of the Minsk Group, an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)–led mediation group, beginning a series of talks on a possible settlement of the conflict.
Al-Shabab in Somalia
Al-Shabab continues to conduct attacks both within Somalia and in neighboring Kenya, including a January 15, 2019, attack on an upscale Nairobi hotel complex in which at least twenty-one civilians were killed and hundreds held hostage. The militants also continue to target the Somali state and African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces.
Destabilization of Mali
Concerns are growing that militant groups in Mali are increasing in number and strength, with violence spreading across the country and across borders. In January 2019, local al-Qaeda affiliate, the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), claimed a series of attacks on UN peacekeepers, soldiers from both Mali and Burkina Faso, and local militants.
Political Crisis in Burundi
Since gaining independence in 1962, Burundi has experienced multiple episodes of mass violence, including massacres in 1972, 1988, and during the early 1990s, which led to the outbreak of civil war in 1993. Burundi’s past conflicts have stemmed from divisions between social groups, primarily along ethnic lines between Hutus and Tutsis, but also from contests for social, economic, and institutional power and discriminatory policies.
Burundi and Rwanda share the same ethnic groups(Hutus and Tutsis) and both have experienced mass violence.
Internal conflicts in Myanmar
1.Kachin conflict
2.Karen conflict
3.Rohingya conflict
Moro Conflict - Philippines
The Moro conflict was an insurgency in the Mindanao region of the Philippines, which lasted between 1969 and 2019.
Due to marginalisation produced by continuous Resettlement Policy sustained at start of Mindanao and Sulu inclusion to the Philippine Commonwealth territory of 1935, by 1969, political tensions and open hostilities developed between the Government of the Philippines and Moro Muslim rebel groups.
Insurgency In Balochistan
The insurgency in Balochistan is a guerrilla war waged by Baloch nationalists against the governments of Pakistan and Iran in the Balochistan region, which covers Balochistan Province in southwestern Pakistan, Sistan and Baluchestan Province in southeastern Iran, and the Balochistan region of southern Afghanistan. Rich in natural resources like natural gas, oil, coal, copper, sulphur, fluoride and gold, this is the least developed province in Pakistan
Sistan and Balochistan insurgency
The Sistan and Baluchestan insurgency, part of the Balochistan conflict, began approximately in 2004 and is an ongoing low-intensity asymmetric conflict in Sistan and Baluchestan Province between Iran and several Baloch Sunni militant organizations which are designated as terrorist organizations by Iran.
Catalonia- Spain
Catalonia is a semi-autonomous region in north-east Spain with a distinct history dating back almost 1,000 years.
The drive for Catalan independence captured the world’s attention in October 2017, when a banned referendum on the issue was met with a heavy police crackdown.
In June 2018, Catalan nationalists regained control of the region from Madrid’s direct rule after a new government was sworn in.
Note-
Generally, questions related to conflicts and ethnic groups appear in the form of map marking or match the following, so prepare accordingly.
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