major wars of 20th century

Years 1994 2007 Battle deaths 17,601 Coinciding with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, part of Chechnya declared independence from the Russian Federation. Simmering debate over independence ultimately led to civil war in 1993. The First Chechen War began in 1994 when Russian forces entered Chechnya to restore civil order and central rule. Following a 1997 ceasefire agreement, Russian troops were withdrawn from Chechnya.

The 1997 election of separatist President Aslan Maskhadov led to turbulence within the country and a chilly relationship with Moscow. Further tensions arose in January and February of 1999 as Maskhadov announced that Islamic Sharia law would be introduced in Chechnya over the course of three years. In March of that year, General Gennadiy Shpigun Moscows envoy to Chechnya was kidnapped and ultimately killed.

Years 1996 2006 Battle deaths 12,284 The Nepal Civil War was a conflict between monarchist government forces and Maoist rebels in Nepal which lasted from 1996 until 2006. The war was started by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) on February 13, 1996, with the aim of establishing the Peoples Republic of Nepal.More than 12,700 people were killed and an estimated 100,000 to 150,000 people were internally displaced as a result of the conflict. This conflict disrupted the majority of rural development activities and led to a deep and complex transformation of Nepalese society. On November 21, 2006, a peace agreement was signed between the rebels and the new democratic government.

Years 1998 1999 Battle deaths 1,700 The conflict over government in Guinea Bissau was triggered by the dismissal by President Viera of General Ansumane Mane. The latter formed a military junta, Military Junta for the Consolidation of Democracy, Peace and Justice, and challenged the government, which could only avoid defeat by relying on foreign troops. Following negotiations and a peace agreement, the rebels made a final push and ousted President Veira, thus ending the conflict.

Years 1998 2000 Battle deaths 98,192 The Eritrean Ethiopian War took place from May 1998 to June 2000 between Ethiopia and Eritrea, forming one of the conflicts in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea and Ethiopia two of the worlds poorest countries spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the war, and suffered tens of thousands of casualties as a direct consequence of the conflict, which resulted in minor border changes.According to a ruling by an international commission in The Hague, Eritrea broke international law and triggered the war by invading Ethiopia.At the end of the war Ethiopia held all of the disputed territory and had advanced into Eritrea. After the war ended, the Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary Commission, a body founded by the UN, established that Badme, the disputed territory at the heart of the conflict, belongs to Eritrea. As of 2012, Ethiopia still occupies the territory.

Years 2001 2012 Battle deaths 42,932 The War in Afghanistan, which began on October 7, 2001 as the U.S. military operation Operation Enduring Freedom, was launched by the United States with the United Kingdom in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks. The stated purpose of the invasion was to capture Osama bin Laden, destroy al Qaeda, and remove the Taliban regime which had provided support and safe harbor to al Qaeda. The United States Bush Doctrine stated that, as policy, it would not distinguish between al Qaeda and nations that harbor them.Two military operations in Afghanistan seek to establish control over the country. Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) is a United States combat operation involving some coalition partners and currently operating primarily in the eastern and southern parts of the country along the Pakistan border. Approximately 28,300 U.S. troops are in OEF. The second operation is the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), initially established by the UN Security Council at the end of December 2001 to secure Kabul and its surroundings. NATO assumed control of ISAF in 2003. By January 12, 2009, ISAF had around 55,100 troops from 41 countries, with NATO members providing the core of the force. The United States has approximately 23,300 troops in ISAF.

The U.S. and the UK led the aerial bombing campaign, with ground forces supplied primarily by the Afghan Northern Alliance. In 2002, American, British and Canadian infantry were committed, along with special forces from several allied nations. Later, NATO troops were added.The initial attack removed the Taliban from power, but Taliban forces have since regained some strength. The war has been less successful in achieving the goal of restricting al Qaedas movement. Since 2006, Afghanistan has seen threats to its stability from increased Taliban led insurgent activity, record high levels of illegal drug production, and a fragile government with limited control outside of Kabul. As of end 2008, the war has been unsuccessful in its primary purpose of capturing Osama bin Laden.

Years 2001 2012 Battle deaths 4,538 The War on terrorism or War on terror (abbreviated in policy circles as GWOT for global war on terror) is a global effort by the governments of several countries (primarily the United States and its principal allies) to destroy international groups it deems as terrorist (primarily radical Islamist terrorist groups, including al Qaeda) and ensure rogue nations no longer support terrorist activities. It has been adopted as a consequence of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.The United States, with support from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and the Northern Alliance, invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 as part of its War on Terrorism campaign. The military campaign, led by U.S. general Tommy Franks, was initially dubbed Operation Infinite Justice but quickly renamed Operation Enduring Freedom, due to perceived religious connotations of the former. British military operations against Afghanistan were codenamed Operation Veritas.According to the U.S., the purpose of Operation Enduring Freedom was to target Osama bin Laden, suspected of planning and funding the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack, and his terrorist network al Qaida, as well as the Taliban government in Afghanistan which allegedly provided support to al Qaida and gave them safe haven. Many journalists have reported that plans to attack al Qaida and the Taliban existed as early as the Clinton administration.

Years 2003 2003 Battle deaths 8,202 The 2003 invasion of Iraq, also called simply the Iraq War or Operation Iraqi Freedom, was a war that began March 20, 2003, fought between a group of troops consisting primarily of American and British, but also Polish, Australian and several other nations forces, and Iraq.The invasion began without the explicit authorization of the United Nations Security Council, and most legal authorities take the view that the action violated the U.N. Charter. The Bush Administration has cited Security Council resolutions from early 1990s as legal justification, though there is no clear support in any of them for military action against Iraq.After approximately three weeks of fighting, Iraq was occupied by coalition forces and the rule of Saddam Hussein and his Baath Party came to an end. Subsequently, the period known as post invasion Iraq began. Approximately 250,000 United States troops, with support from 45,000 British, and smaller forces from other nations, collectively called the Coalition of the Willing, entered Iraq primarily through a staging area in Kuwait. Plans for opening a second front in the north were abandoned when Turkey officially refused the use of its territory for such purposes. Forces also supported Iraqi Kurdish militia troops, estimated to number upwards of 50,000.Facing them was a large but poorly equipped military force. The regular Iraqi army was estimated at 280,000 350,000 troops, with four Republican Guard divisions with 50,000 80,000 troops, and the Fedayeen Saddam, a 20,000 40,000 strong militia, who used guerrilla tactics during the war. There were an estimated thirteen infantry divisions, ten mechanized and armored divisions, as well as some special forces units. The Iraqi Air Force and Navy played a negligible role in the conflict.

Years 2003 2012 Battle deaths 17,304 In 2003, a multi national coalition comprising USA, UK and Australia ousted the Saddam Hussein regime and a new government was installed. Shortly after, violence and criticism of the government and its foreign support escalated into a renewed armed conflict, in which a number of opposition groups became involved.

Years 2004 2012 Battle deaths 20,165 The War in North West Pakistan is an armed conflict between the Pakistani Army and Islamist militants made up by local tribesmen, the Taliban and foreign extremists. It began in 2004 when tensions rooted in the Pakistani Armys search for al Qaeda members in Pakistans mountainous Waziristan area (in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas) escalated into armed resistance by local tribesmen.Clashes erupted between the Pakistani troops and al Qaedas and other militants joined by local rebels and pro Taliban forces. The Pakistani actions were presented as a part of the War on Terrorism, and had connections to the war and Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.After a truce in September 2006, clashes escalated again in 2007, with local tribesmen ousting militant Uzbeks and attacking the Pakistani security forces again in July 2007.

Years 2006 2006 Battle deaths 821 The 2006 Lebanon War, known in Lebanon as the July War and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War, was a 34 day military conflict in Lebanon and northern Israel. The principal parties were Hezbollah paramilitary forces and the Israeli military. The conflict started on 12 July 2006, and continued until a United Nations brokered ceasefire went into effect on 14 August 2006, though it formally ended on 8 September 2006 when Israel lifted its naval blockade of Lebanon.The conflict began when Hezbollah militants fired rockets at Israeli border towns, wounding several civilians, as a diversion for an anti tank missile attack on two armored Humvees patrolling the Israeli side of the border fence. Of the seven Israeli soldiers in the two jeeps, two were wounded, three were killed, and two were seized and taken to Lebanon. Five more were killed in a failed Israeli rescue attempt. Israel responded with massive airstrikes and artillery fire on targets in Lebanon, which damaged Lebanese civilian infrastructure, including Beiruts Rafic Hariri International Airport which Israel said Hezbollah used to import weapons, an air and naval blockade, and a ground invasion of southern Lebanon. Hezbollah then launched more rockets into northern Israel and engaged the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in guerrilla warfare from hardened positions.The conflict killed more than a thousand people, most of whom were Lebanese civilians; severely damaged Lebanese infrastructure; and displaced 974,184 Lebanese and 300,000 500,000 Israelis, although most, if not all, were able to return to their homes. After the ceasefire, some parts of Southern Lebanon remained uninhabitable due to unexploded cluster bombs.

On 11 August 2006, the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved UN Resolution 1701 in an effort to end the hostilities. The resolution, which was approved by both Lebanese and Israeli governments the following days, called for disarmament of Hezbollah, for withdrawal of Israel from Lebanon, and for the deployment of Lebanese soldiers and an enlarged United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) force in southern Lebanon. The Lebanese army began deploying in southern Lebanon on 17 August 2006. The blockade was lifted on 8 September 2006. On 1 October 2006, most Israeli troops withdrew from Lebanon, though the last of the troops continued to occupy the border straddling village of Ghajar. In the time since the enactment of UNSCR 1701 both the Lebanese government and UNIFIL have stated that they will not disarm Hezbollah.