Second Liberian Civil War

1999–2003 war in West Africa

For other uses, see Liberian Civil War.

This article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject. Please help improve the article by providing more context for the reader. (August 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

Second Liberian Civil War

Part of the Liberian Civil Wars and spillover of the Sierra Leone Civil War

Unidentified Liberian rebel fighters, including child soldiers, during the Second Liberian Civil War
| Date| 21 April 1999[1] – 18 August 2003
(4 years, 3 months and 4 weeks)

|

Location|

Liberia, with spillovers in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast

Result|

Rebel victory

* Resignation of Charles Taylor and subsequent exile
* Transitional Government of Liberia installed
* Accra Peace Agreement signed
* United Nations Mission in Liberia deployed

Belligerents

Liberian government

* Loyalist Armed Forces elements
* ATU
* SOD
* SSS
* NPFL/NPP militias

RUF
RDFG|

Rebel groups:

* Anti-Taylor Armed Forces elements
* LURD
* MODEL

Guinea
Sierra Leone
Supported by:

Ivory Coast
United Kingdom
United States
Commanders and leaders
Charles Taylor
Benjamin Yeaten
Chucky Taylor
Sam Bockarie |  Gyude Bryant
Sekou Conneh
Thomas Nimely
Lansana Conté
Strength
1,250–1,500 (2002)[2]
FAL:
11,000– 14,000 (2002)
12,000 (2003)[3]
Militias:
16,000 (2003)[3]|  (2003):[3]
35,000 LURD
14,000 MODEL
Casualties and losses
~50,000 killed[4]

* v
* t
* e

Liberian Civil Wars

1st Civil War

* 1989 Invasion
* Butuo
* 1st Monrovia
* Church
* ECOWAS intervention
* Killing of Samuel Doe
* ULIMO Uprising
* 2nd Monrovia
* Harbel
* 1994 coup attempt
* 3rd Monrovia

1998 clashes

2nd Civil War

* LURD Uprising
* Maher
* 4th Monrovia

The Second Liberian Civil War was a civil war in the West African nation of Liberia that lasted from 1999 to 2003.

President Charles Taylor came to power in 1997 after victory in the First Liberian Civil War which led to two years of peace. The Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), an anti-Taylor rebel group backed by the government of Guinea, invaded northern Liberia in mid-2000, seizing the city of Voinjama.[5] LURD made gradual gains against Taylor in the north and began approaching the capital Monrovia by early 2002. The Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL), a second anti-Taylor rebel group, invaded southern Liberia in early 2003 and quickly conquered most of the south. Taylor, reduced to controlling only a third of Liberia and under pressure from the Siege of Monrovia, resigned in August 2003 and fled to Nigeria. The Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed by the warring parties a week later, marking the political end of the conflict and beginning Liberia's transition to democracy. The National Transitional Government led by interim President Gyude Bryant governed the country until the 2005 general election.

The Second Liberian Civil War resulted in the deaths of over 50,000 people and the internal displacement of thousands more. The conflict saw the widespread use of child soldiers by both Taylor and LURD. The United Nations Mission in Liberia was deployed in the country until it was officially withdrawn in 2018.

## Overview

[edit]

### Background

[edit]

LURD commander "Gen. Cobra" with his guards

The First Liberian Civil War ended in August 1997 when Charles Taylor took power as the President of Liberia. Taylor had initiated the war when he and his militia, the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), invaded the country from the Ivory Coast to overthrow President Samuel Doe in December 1989. The NPFL rapidly conquered most of Liberia except for the capital Monrovia, which came under the control of the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL), a splinter group led by Prince Johnson. The INPFL captured and executed Doe in September 1990 and resisted attempts by the NPFL to take Monrovia, denying Taylor an outright victory and prolonging the war for years. A peace agreement was signed in 1996 between the major factions and resulted in the 1997 Liberian general election.

Taylor won a landslide victory with 75% of the vote for the presidency, while his National Patriotic Party dominated the Legislature of Liberia. His success was mainly due to his control over the media, fear that the war would restart if he lost, and a general unfamiliarity with democratic processes among the Liberian public. Taylor quickly established a totalitarian and corrupt regime, with many dissidents fleeing to neighboring countries. Taylor's ambition of establishing Liberia as a regional power led to him supporting rebel groups such as the Rally of Democratic Forces of Guinea in the RFDG Insurgency and the Revolutionary United Front in the Sierra Leone Civil War. This brought him into conflict with the governments of Guinea and Sierra Leone who, in retaliation, began supporting the anti-Taylor dissidents that had fled to their countries.

### LURD invasion

[edit]

The second civil war began in April 1999, when Liberian dissidents under the banner of the Organization of Displaced Liberians invaded Liberia from Guinea.[6] Guinea became LURD's main source of military and financial support. By July 2000, the various dissident groups had coalesced as the LURD led by Sekou Conneh. The dissidents were thought to be mostly Mandinka and Krahn fighters of the former ULIMO-J and ULIMO-K.[7]

Also important in forming LURD was an alliance, brokered by ECOMOG-SL Nigerian chief General Maxwell Khobe, between Liberian dissidents and the Sierra Leonean Kamajors hunter militia, including chiefs Samuel Hinga Norman and Eddie Massally.[7] Against the dissidents Taylor deployed irregular ex-National Patriotic Front of Liberia fighters with his more privileged units, such as the Anti-Terrorist Unit, positioned to ensure the irregulars did fight.

Simultaneous September 2000 counter-attacks on Guinea from Liberia and Sierra Leone by RUF – still loyal to Taylor and Guinean dissidents – achieved initial success.[8] By January 2001, however, Taylor's forces were pushed back inside Sierra Leone and Liberia. The insurgents were posing a major threat to the Taylor government. Liberia was now engaged in a complex three-way conflict with Sierra Leone and the Guinea Republic.

By the beginning of 2002, both of these countries were supporting LURD, while Taylor was supporting various opposition factions in both countries. By supporting — practically creating — the SL rebels, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), Taylor also drew the enmity of the British and Americans. British and U.S. pressure on Taylor increased with rising financial support for Guinea and U.S./U.K.-proposed sanctions, a weaker version of which were imposed by U.N. Security Council May 2001.

### Rebels approach Monrovia

[edit]

A technical with a mounted machine gun, Monrovia.

By mid-February 2002 LURD troops were just 44 kilometres from Monrovia, at Klay Junction, and Taylor was forced to declare a state of emergency.[9] The February 2002 ICG report says that this attack was made by pursuing ‘a strategy of infiltration of south-western Liberia through the thick bush of Southern Lofa, looping around government strongholds and disrupting supply lines... while LURD claims between 300 and 500 men were assigned to that mission, ... the number that actually attacked was likely closer to twenty.’ Any image of a large force gradually pushing toward Monrovia is mistaken; ‘hit and run’ raids, rather than a continuous advance, seem to have been the pattern.[10]

Through the first half of 2002 LURD mounted raids in Bomi, Bong, and Montserrado counties, hitting, in addition to Klay Junction, Gbarnga and Tubmanburg, each time temporarily seizing control from government fighters.[10] In May, an attack on Arthington, less than 20 kilometres from the capital, apparently prompted panic in Monrovia. The state of emergency was lifted in September 2002, after, the government claimed, the township of Bopolu had been retaken.[11]

In early 2003, a second rebel group, the Ivoirian-backed Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL), emerged in the south, and by the summer of 2003, Taylor's government controlled only a third of the country. Despite some setbacks, by mid-2003 LURD controlled the northern third of the country and was threatening the capital. The capital Monrovia was besieged by LURD, and that group's shelling of the city resulted in the deaths of many civilians. Thousands of people were displaced from their homes as a result of the conflict.

A new bout of fighting began in March 2003 after a relative lull and by early May, LURD and MODEL had gained control of nearly two-thirds of the country, and were threatening Monrovia. Regional and wider pressure led to the convening of a conference in Accra by the then Chair of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), President John Kufuor of Ghana, on 4 June 2003.

### Siege of Monrovia (July–August 2003)

[edit]

Further information: Siege of Monrovia

By July 2003 Monrovia appeared to be in danger of being occupied and devastated despite ongoing peace talks.[12] The U.S. established Joint Task Force Liberia, built around a U.S. navy amphibious group with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard, positioned off the West African coast.

In July 2003 the United States (US) sent a small number of troops to bolster security around the US embassy in Monrovia, which had come under attack during Operation Shining Express. On 25 July 2003, the Southern Europe Task Force at Vicenza, Italy was designated the lead U.S. Army command for the operation.

On 29 July 2003, LURD declared a ceasefire.[13] ECOWAS sent two battalions of Nigerian peacekeepers to Liberia. The first Nigerian battalion detached from the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone, and the second came from Nigeria itself.[14]

### President Taylor resigns (August 2003)

[edit]

President Taylor resigned on 11 August 2003, ahead of the Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which formed the negotiated end to the war, and was flown into exile in Nigeria. An arrest warrant for Taylor for war crimes committed by his RUF rebel allies in Sierra Leone was later issued by Interpol but Nigeria refused to deport him for a time unless they receive a specific request from Liberia. Vice-President Moses Blah replaced Taylor.

On 14 August, rebels lifted their siege of Monrovia and 200 United States Marines landed to support a West African peace force. Thousands of people danced and sang as American troops and ECOMIL, the Nigerian-led West African forces, took over the port and bridges which had split the capital into government and rebel-held zones. An estimated 1,000 people had been killed in Monrovia between 18 July and 14 August.[15]

Moses Blah handed over power to the National Transitional Government of Liberia on 14 October 2003. However, the transitional government exercised no real authority in the country, 80% of which was controlled by the rebel groups. Riots in Monrovia left approximately 16 people dead, with sources claiming that former combatants were behind the violence.[16]

## Child soldiers

[edit]

LURD child soldier

Both LURD and Charles Taylor made extensive use of children press ganged into military service as soldiers or ammunition porters. The use of child soldiers was prolific by both sides, regardless of prohibitions of the practice in the Geneva Convention. Observers from Human Rights Watch described a deadly and chaotic siege of Monrovia, with many very young fighters shooting "shiny toys" they had not been trained to use.[17]

Drugs made up an integral part of Liberian wartime culture. Child soldiers and other combatants were routinely addicted to cocaine, khat, and other drugs as a means of control. Several warlords felt that cocaine made soldiers more effective in battle.[18]

## United Nations peacekeeping

[edit]

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

In November 1997, following the completion of the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia UNOMIL on 30 September, the United Nations established the United Nations Peace-building Support Office in Liberia (UNOL), headed by a representative of the Secretary-General. That first United Nations post-conflict peace-building support office was tasked primarily with assisting the government in consolidating peace following the July 1997 multiparty elections.

On 11 September 2003, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan recommended deployment of the peacekeeping mission, the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), to maintain the peace agreement. The UN Security Council approved the mission on 19 September in Resolution 1509. Nigeria sent in peacekeepers as part of the interim ECOWAS force. UNMIL was made up of over 15,000 personnel, including both military and civilian troops.

The bulk of the personnel were armed military troops, but there were also civilian policemen, as well as political advisers and humanitarian aid workers. On 1 October, the first peacekeepers changed their berets and became a UN force, with many more troops earmarked. During three days of riots in Monrovia in October 2004, nearly 400 people were wounded and 15 killed. The UN slowly built up its forces in the country, with 5,500 projected to be in place by November 2003, and worked to disarm the various factions. However, instability in neighbouring countries, an incomplete disarmament process, and general discontent threatened Liberia's fragile peace.

## Women of Liberia

[edit]

Main article: Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace

A group of Liberian women headed by Leymah Gbowee formed an organization called "Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace" and forced a meeting with President Charles Taylor, extracting a promise from him to attend peace talks in Ghana. A delegation of women organized nonviolence protests and continued to apply pressure on the warring factions during the peace process. They staged a silent protest outside of the Presidential Palace, bringing about an agreement during the stalled peace talks.[19] Their creative non-violent protest allowed them to use the power within women and mothers of Liberia; tactics included a sex strike until their men chose to set aside weapons, and threatening to undress during a sit in outside the peace talks in Ghana.[20]

Working together, over 3,000 Christian and Muslim women mobilized their efforts, and as a result, the women were able to achieve peace in Liberia after a 14-year civil war and helped bring to power the country's first female president.[21] The story is told in the 2008 documentary film Pray the Devil Back to Hell.[22]

Among the women leaders who helped end the civil war was Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who would become the first modern elected female head of state in Africa when she was elected in 2005.[23] Her election was inspired by the powerful commitment of women who had seen the war perpetuated by men in their country and were unwilling to put a man back into that powerful role.[24] This was despite the fact that Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf's role in triggering the war in the 1980s had hampered her presidential prospects in the 1990s. While the Truth and Reconciliation Commission had recommended that she be banned from participating in politics for 30 years, she was re-elected for a second term in 2011.[25]

## See also

[edit]

* Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders (documentary film about Médecins Sans Frontières's work in Liberia after the war)

General:

* History of Liberia

## References

[edit]

Specific

1. ^ Kieh, George Klay (2009). "The roots of the second Liberian civil war". International Journal on World Peace. 26 (1): 7–30\. JSTOR 20752871. Gale A197186608 ProQuest 219282049.7-30&rft.date=2009&rft_id=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20752871#id-name=JSTOR&rft.aulast=Kieh&rft.aufirst=George+Klay&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Second+Liberian+Civil+War" class="Z3988">
2. ^ Africa South of the Sahara 2004. Europa Publications, Routledge. 2003. p. 608\. "In October 2002 the ONU panel of Expert reported that some 1,250–1,500 former RUF combatants continued to operate in élite Liberian military units, under the command of Liberian General Benjamin Yeaten, but with continuing loyalty to Bockarie."
3. ^ a b c Escola de Cultura de Pau. Liberia (inglés) pp. 3[dead link‍]
4. ^ De re Militari: muertos en Guerras, Dictaduras y Genocidios
5. ^ https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/public/Research/Africa/brabazon_bp.pdf
6. ^ International Crisis Group, ‘Liberia: The Key to Ending Regional Instability,’ 24 April 2002, p.8
7. ^ a b ICG, ‘Liberia: The Key to Ending Regional Instability,’ 24 April 2002, p.3
8. ^ "International Crisis Group – Conflict prevention and resolution". Archived from the original on 26 June 2007. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
9. ^ International Crisis Group, April 2002, p.7, Adebayo, Liberia's Civil War, 2002, p.235
10. ^ a b Mats Utas, Fluid Research Fields: Studying Excombatant Youth in the Aftermath of the Liberian Civil War, p.213, in Chapter 11, Children and Youth on the Front Line: ethnography, armed conflict and displacement, Dr Jo Boyden & J. de Berry, Oxford and New York: Berghahn Books, 2004.
11. ^ BBC News Africa, ‘Liberia ends state of emergency,’ Saturday, 14 September 2002.
12. ^ S/2003/875, para 9, see also Dr T. Jaye, Liberia: an analysis of post-Taylor politics, Review of African Political Economy, Vol. 30, Issue 98, Dec 2003
13. ^ Agencies (29 July 2003). "Liberian rebels declare ceasefire". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
14. ^ "Peacekeepers 'rushing' to Liberia". Theguardian.com. 24 July 2003. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
15. ^ "Rebels Lift Siege of Starving Monrovia – General". Redorbit.com. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
16. ^ "Liberia profile – Timeline". BBC News. 10 June 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
17. ^ "Bank's Services for Arms Dealers in Conflict with Its Own Policy – International Consortium of Investigative Journalists". Icij.org. 10 February 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
18. ^ "The VICE Guide to Liberia". Vice. Archived from the original on 28 August 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
19. ^ "African women look within for change". Edition.cnn.com. Archived from the original on 18 May 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
20. ^ Ford, Tamasin (22 January 2018). "Did Liberia's first female leader make a difference?". BBC News. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
21. ^ "Bill Moyers Journal . PRAY THE DEVIL BACK TO HELL – PBS". Pbs.org. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
22. ^ "mediaglobal.org". Mediaglobal.org. Archived from the original on 10 July 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
23. ^ "Ellen Johnson Sirleaf". Academy of Achievement. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
24. ^ Cooper, Helene (5 March 2017). "How Liberian Women Delivered Africa's First Female President". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
25. ^ "Liberia: Civil War Panel Seeks to Ban President From Politics". The New York Times. 7 June 2009. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 24 April 2021.

General

* Liberia: The Key To Ending Regional Instability (Report). Freetown ; Brussels: International Crisis Group. 24 April 2002.
* Gerdes, Felix (2013). Civil war and state formation: the political economy of war and peace in Liberia (PDF). Mikropolitik der Gewalt. Vol. 9\. Frankfurt am Main: Campus. ISBN 978-3-593-39892-1.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Käihkö, Ilmari (2016). Bush Generals and Small Boy Battalions : Military Cohesion in Liberia and Beyond (PDF) (PhD thesis). Uppsala: Uppsala University. ISBN 978-91-506-2545-5.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Second Liberian Civil War.

* Insight on Conflict.Liberia Archived 20 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine
* United Nations Mission in Liberia website
* Text of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, U.S. Institute of Peace
* Photo gallery by Chris Hondros

* v
* t
* e

Liberia articles

History|

* Colonization (1821–1847)
* Americo-Liberian rule (1847–1980)
* 1871 coup d'état
* 1980 coup d'état
* Samuel Doe era (1980–1989)
* 1985 coup attempt
* First Civil War (1989–1997)
* 1994 coup attempt
* 1998 Monrovia clashes
* Second Civil War (1999–2003)
* 2014 Ebola virus epidemic
* 2020 coronavirus pandemic

Geography|

* Cities
* Borders
* Environmental issues (Climate change)
* Forests
* Islands
* Mountains
* Rivers
* Wildlife

Politics|

* Administrative divisions
* Constitution
* Elections
* Cabinet
* Foreign relations
* Government ministries
* Human rights
* LGBT
* Judiciary
* Supreme Court
* Chief Justice
* Military
* Chief of Staff
* Parliament
* Police
* Political parties
* President
* Vice President

Economy|

* Agriculture
* Central bank
* Communications
* Dollar (currency)
* Energy
* Mining
* Tourism
* Transport

Society|

* Abortion
* Corruption
* Crime
* Demographics
* Education
* Ethnic groups
* Gender inequality
* Health
* Languages
* Public holidays
* Religion
* Squatting
* Women

Culture|

* Cinema
* Coat of arms
* Cuisine
* Flag
* Media
* Music
* Polygamy
* Sport

* Outline
* Index

* Category
* Portal

* v
* t
* e

Post–Cold War conflicts in Africa

North Africa|

| Egypt|

* Egyptian Crisis (2011–2014)
* 2011 revolution
* Sinai insurgency (2011–present)
* Post-coup unrest (2013–2014)
* Terrorism in Egypt (2013–present)

|

Libya|

* 2008 Kufra conflict
* Libyan crisis
* 2011 civil war
* 2011–2014 factional violence
* 2014–2020 civil war

Western Sahara|

* Western Sahara conflict (1970–present)
* War, 1975–1991
* Clashes, 2020–present

Others|

* Algerian Civil War (1991–2002)
* Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present)
* Tunisian revolution (2010–2011)

West Africa|

| Nigeria|

* Communal conflicts in Nigeria (1998–present)
* Herder–farmer conflicts
* Religious violence
* Boko Haram insurgency (2009–present)
* Niger Delta conflict (2003–present)
* 2016 conflict
* Insurgency in Southeastern Nigeria (2021–present)

|

Mali|

* Tuareg rebellions
* 1990–1995
* 2007–2009
* 2012
* Mali War (2012–present)

Sierra Leone|

* Ndogboyosoi War
* Sierra Leone Civil War

Liberia|

* Liberian Civil Wars
* 1989–1996
* 1999–2003

Côte d'Ivoire|

* Ivorian Civil Wars
* 2002–2007
* 2010–2011

Others|

* Guinea-Bissau Civil War (1998–1999)
* Guinea clashes (2013)
* Casamance conflict (1982–present)
* 2016–2017 Gambian constitutional crisis
* ECOWAS military intervention
* Western Togoland Rebellion (2020–present)

Central Africa|

| Angola|

* Angolan Civil War (1975–2002)
* Cabinda War (1975–present)

|

DR Congo|

* First Congo War (1996–1997)
* Allied Democratic Forces insurgency (1996–present)
* Second Congo War (1998–2003)
* Ituri conflict (1999–2007)
* Kivu conflict (2004–present)
* Dongo conflict (2009)
* Ituri conflict (2009–present)
* March 23 Movement conflict
* 2012–2013 rebellion
* 2022–2024 offensive
* Batwa–Luba clashes (2013–2018)
* Kamwina Nsapu rebellion (2016–2019)

Republic
of the Congo|

* Civil wars
* 1993–1994
* 1997–1999
* Pool Department conflict (2002–2003)
* Pool War (2016–2017)

Central African
Republic|

* Bush War (2004–2007)
* Civil War (2012–present)
* Djotodia period, 2013–2014

Chad|

* Civil War (2005–2010)
* Insurgency in Northern Chad (2016–present)
* 2021 offensive

Others|

* Anglophone Crisis (Cameroon)
* Lord's Resistance Army insurgency (1987–present)
* Boko Haram insurgency (2009–present)

East Africa|

| Ethiopia|

* Oromo conflict
* OLA insurgency, 2018–present
* Insurgency in Ogaden (1994–2018)
* Second Afar insurgency (1995–2018)
* Eritrean–Ethiopian border conflict (2000–2018)
* War, 1998–2000
* Ethiopian civil conflict (2018–present)
* Afar–Somali clashes
* Benishangul-Gumuz conflict
* Oromia–Somali clashes
* Tigray war
* War in Amhara

|

Somalia|

* Puntland–Somaliland dispute (1998–present)
* Somali Civil War
* 2006–2009 Ethiopian intervention
* 2009–present phase
* AMISOM
* Piracy off the coast of Somalia

Kenya|

* Ethnic conflicts
* Somali–Kenyan conflict (1963–present)
* Likoni massacres (1997)
* Kenyan crisis (2007–2008)
* 2012–2013 Tana River District clashes (2012–2013)
* Baragoi clashes (2012)

South Sudan|

* Heglig Crisis (2012)
* Nomadic conflicts
* Ethnic violence
* Civil War (2013–2020)
* Abyei conflict (2022–2023)

Sudan|

* Second Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005)
* War in Darfur (2003–2020)
* Nomadic conflicts (2009–present)
* South Kordofan and Blue Nile conflict (2011–2020)
* Heglig Crisis (2012)
* Blue Nile clashes (2022–2023)
* Sudanese civil war (2023–present)

Uganda|

* Lord's Resistance Army insurgency (1987–present)
* Allied Democratic Forces insurgency (1996–present)
* Kasese clashes (2016)

Others|

* Rwandan Civil War / genocide (1990–1994)
* Djiboutian Civil War (1991–1994)
* Hanish Islands conflict
* 2008 invasion of Anjouan
* Djiboutian–Eritrean border conflict
* Burundian conflicts
* 1993–2005 Civil War
* 2015–2018 unrest

Southern Africa|

| Mozambique|

* Mozambican Civil War (1977–1992)
* RENAMO insurgency (2013–2021)
* Insurgency in Cabo Delgado (2017–present)

|

Others|

* Bophuthatswana crisis (1994)
* Caprivi conflict (1994–1999)
* Lesothan conflicts
* SADC intervention in Lesotho (1998–1999)
* 2014 Lesotho political crisis

Related topics|

* War on terror
* Arab Spring
* Arab Winter
* Colour revolutions

* v
* t
* e

Wars of the 20th century

1900s|

* Thousand Days' War
* Second Boer War
* War of the Golden Stool
* Shoubak revolt of 1900
* Russian invasion of Manchuria
* Sharjah conquest of Ras Al Khaimah
* Somaliland campaign
* Kuwaiti–Rashidi war
* Revolución Libertadora [es]
* Anglo-Aro War
* Battle of Holy Apostles Monastery
* 1901 Mapondera Rebellion
* Holy Man's Rebellion
* Kuanhama Rebellion of 1902-1904
* Bailundo revolt
* Venezuelan crisis of 1902–1903
* Battle of Jo-Laban
* Theriso revolt
* May Coup (Serbia)
* Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising
* British expedition to Tibet
* British conquest of the Sokoto Caliphate
* Saudi–Rashidi War (1903–1907)
* South West African Revolt of 1904-1906
* Portuguese campaign against the Ovambo
* Vaccine Revolt
* Revolution of 1904
* 1904 Sasun uprising
* Herero Wars
* Russo-Japanese War
* Yemeni Rebellion of 1904
* Macedonian Struggle
* Argentine Revolution of 1905
* Shoubak Revolt of 1905
* Łódź insurrection
* Batang uprising
* 1905 Russian Revolution
* Maji Maji Rebellion
* Yemeni Expedition of 1905
* Sokoto Uprising of 1906
* 1906 Mesopotamia uprising
* Dutch intervention in Bali (1906)
* Bambatha Rebellion
* Dembos War of 1907-1910
* Anti-Foreign Revolt
* Mutair revolt
* 1907 Romanian Peasants' Revolt
* Honduran-Nicaraguan War
* Beipu uprising
* Buraida rebellion
* Dersim insurgencies
* Battle of Marrakesh
* Mau uprising [de]
* Young Turk Revolution
* Dutch intervention in Bali (1908)
* Dutch–Venezuelan crisis of 1908
* Estrada's rebellion
* Kolašin Affair (1909)
* Zaraniq rebellion (1909–1910)
* Crazy Snake Rebellion
* Second Melillan campaign
* Hauran Druze Rebellion
* Wadai War

1910s|

* Battle of Hadia [ar]
* Karak revolt
* Albanian revolt of 1910
* 5 October 1910 revolution
* Chinese expedition to Tibet (1910)
* Sokehs rebellion
* Mexican Revolution
* Mexican Border War (1910–1919)
* Bandit War
* Magonista rebellion of 1911
* Paraguayan Civil War (1911–1912)
* Russian occupation of Tabriz
* Albanian revolt of 1911
* Second Guangzhou Uprising
* Dominican Civil War (1911–1912)
* French conquest of Morocco
* Italo-Turkish War
* East Timorese Rebellion
* 1911 Revolution
* War of the Generals
* Sirte revolt
* Khost rebellion (1912)
* First Balkan War
* Albanian revolt of 1912
* Contestado War
* United States occupation of Nicaragua
* Royalist attack on Chaves
* Negro Rebellion
* Urtatagai conflict (1913)
* Atmene uprising [ru]
* Conquest of al-Hasa
* Second Balkan War
* Tikveš uprising
* Ohrid–Debar uprising
* Second Revolution (Republic of China)
* Bai Lang Rebellion
* Operations in the Tochi
* Revolt of Juazeiro [pt]
* Zaian War
* Dominican Civil War (1914)
* Peasant Revolt in Albania
* Truku War
* World War I
* United States occupation of Veracruz
* Bluff War
* Ovambo insurrection in Portuguese Angola [fr]
* Maritz rebellion
* Tapani incident
* Battle of Kinzaan
* Battle of Jarrab
* Chilembwe uprising
* Bussa rebellion
* 1915 Singapore Mutiny
* Volta-Bani War
* National Protection War
* Senussi campaign
* United States occupation of Haiti
* Operations against the Mohmands, Bunerwals and Swatis in 1915
* Mohmand blockade
* Cuban Civil War
* Kaocen revolt
* 1916 Cochinchina uprising
* Battle of Segale
* Noemvriana
* Central Asian revolt of 1916
* Easter Rising
* United States occupation of the Dominican Republic (1916–1924)
* Arab Revolt
* Basmachi movement
* February Revolution
* July Days
* Manchu Restoration
* Thái Nguyên uprising
* Polubotkivtsi uprising
* Toplica Uprising
* Kornilov affair
* Green Corn Rebellion
* October Revolution
* Kerensky–Krasnov uprising
* Russian Civil War
* Constitutional Protection Movement
* Ukrainian War of Independence
* Golok conflicts (1917–1949)
* Operations against the Marri and Khetran tribes
* Adubi War
* Simko Shikak revolt (1918–1922)
* Judenburg mutiny
* Cattaro mutiny
* Aster Revolution
* Radomir Rebellion
* Left SR uprising
* Finnish Civil War
* Armeno-Georgian War
* Polish–Czechoslovak border conflicts
* Viena expedition
* First Pechenga expedition
* Austro-Slovene conflict in Carinthia
* German Revolution of 1918–1919
* Greater Poland uprising (1918–1919)
* Hungarian–Czechoslovak War
* Polish–Ukrainian War
* Georgian–Ossetian conflict (1918–1920)
* Sochi conflict
* Armenian–Azerbaijani War
* Estonian War of Independence
* Latvian War of Independence
* Lithuanian–Soviet War
* Al-Khurma dispute
* Vue Pa Chay's revolt
* Revolt of the Ingrian Finns
* Franco-Turkish War
* Punjab Rebellion
* Black Sea mutiny
* 1919 Royalist uprising in Northern Portugal
* Christmas Uprising
* Spartacist uprising
* Lithuanian War of Independence (War against the Bermontians)
* Sejny Uprising
* First Barzanji Revolt
* Polish–Czechoslovak War
* Khotyn Uprising
* Hungarian–Romanian War
* Turkish War of Independence
* Third Anglo-Afghan War
* Waziristan campaign (1919–1920)
* Italian Regency of Carnaro
* Italo-Yugoslav War
* First Honduran Civil War
* Polish–Soviet War
* First Silesian Uprising
* Aunus expedition
* Alawite revolt of 1919
* Irish War of Independence
* Kuwait–Najd War
* Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922)
* Revolts during the Turkish War of Independence

1920s|

* Zhili–Anhui War
* Franco-Turkish War
* Red Army invasion of Georgia
* East Karelian uprising
* First Zhili–Fengtian War
* Second Zhili–Fengtian War
* Rif War
* Irish Civil War
* Paraguayan Civil War (1922)
* Cristero War
* Afghan Civil War (1928–1929)

1930s|

* Sino-Tibetan War
* Japanese invasion of Manchuria
* Chaco War
* Colombia–Peru War
* Saudi–Yemeni War (1934)
* Austrian Civil War
* Second Italo-Ethiopian War
* Spanish Civil War
* Second Sino-Japanese War
* Battle of Lake Khasan
* Polish–Czechoslovak War
* Hungarian invasion of Carpatho-Ukraine
* Slovak–Hungarian War
* Battles of Khalkhin Gol
* World War II
* Soviet invasion of Poland
* Winter War
* Italian invasion of Albania

1940s|

* Greco-Italian War
* Franco-Thai War
* German–Soviet War
* Continuation War
* Anglo-Iraqi War
* Lapland War
* Soviet–Japanese War
* Ecuadorian–Peruvian War
* Indonesian National Revolution
* First Indochina War
* Greek Civil War
* Paraguayan Civil War (1947)
* Chinese Civil War
* Costa Rican Civil War
* Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948
* La Violencia
* 1947–1949 Palestine war
* Malayan Emergency

1950s|

* Korean War
* Algerian War
* First Sudanese Civil War
* Laotian Civil War
* Suez Crisis
* Hungarian Revolution of 1956
* Cuban Revolution
* Ifni War
* Vietnam War
* 1958 Lebanon crisis

1960s|

* Guatemalan Civil War
* Congo Crisis
* Bay of Pigs Invasion
* Bizerte crisis
* Annexation of Goa
* Angolan War of Independence
* Eritrean War of Independence
* Sino-Indian War
* Dhofar Rebellion
* Guinea-Bissau War of Independence
* Sand War
* Colombian conflict
* Mozambican War of Independence
* Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
* Dominican Civil War
* South African Border War
* Rhodesian Bush War
* 1967 Opium War
* Chadian Civil War (1965–1979)
* Six-Day War
* Nigerian Civil War
* Cambodian Civil War
* Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
* Football War
* Sino-Soviet border conflict
* Tielieketi

1970s|

* Black September
* Bangladesh Liberation War
* Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
* Yom Kippur War
* Western Sahara War
* Turkish invasion of Cyprus
* Ethiopian Civil War
* Cod Wars
* Cambodian–Vietnamese War
* Lebanese Civil War
* Angolan Civil War
* Mozambican Civil War
* Indonesian occupation of East Timor
* Egyptian–Libyan War
* Ogaden War
* 1978 South Lebanon conflict
* Opération Lamantin
* Uganda–Tanzania War
* Chadian–Libyan conflict
* Sino-Vietnamese War
* Soviet–Afghan War
* Salvadoran Civil War

1980s|

* Iran–Iraq War
* Paquisha War
* Falklands War
* 1982 Lebanon War
* United States invasion of Grenada
* Second Sudanese Civil War
* Sri Lankan Civil War
* Operation Blue Star
* Kurdish–Turkish conflict (1978–present)
* Agacher Strip War
* Somali Civil War
* United States invasion of Panama
* First Liberian Civil War
* Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

1990s|

* 1991–1992 South Ossetia War
* Rwandan Civil War
* Georgian Civil War
* Djiboutian Civil War
* Invasion of Kuwait
* Gulf War
* Yugoslav Wars
* Slovenian Independence War
* Croatian War of Independence
* Bosnian War
* First Nagorno-Karabakh War
* Algerian Civil War
* Sierra Leone Civil War
* Afghan Civil War (1992–1996)
* Transnistria War
* Abkhaz–Georgian conflict
* War in Abkhazia (1992–1993)
* War in Abkhazia (1998)
* Tajikistani Civil War
* Burundian Civil War
* Yemeni Civil War (1994)
* First Chechen War
* Iraqi Kurdish Civil War
* Cenepa War
* First Congo War
* Nepalese Civil War
* Republic of the Congo Civil War (1997–1999)
* Kosovo War
* NATO bombing of Yugoslavia
* Guinea-Bissau Civil War
* Second Congo War
* Eritrean–Ethiopian War
* War of Dagestan
* Kargil War
* Second Chechen War
* Second Liberian Civil War

* Lists of wars of the 20th century
* 1900–1944
* 1945–1989
* 1990–2002

Authority control databases: National |

* United States
* Israel

|

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template