Russia’s war in Ukraine dominates the headlines these days, but war rages in other countries, too. Whether due to civil war or fighting among neighboring nations, these wars take a heavy toll on soldiers and civilians.
Ukraine and Russia have been reluctant to disclose casualty figures. But as the conflict nears its one-year anniversary, it is estimated that both sides have suffered over 200,000 casualties – battle deaths or wounds – according to Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He gave those estimates during a talk at the Economic Club of New York in November. Miley went on to say the Russian invasion has also killed roughly 40,000 Ukrainian civilians.
But Ukraine and Russia are not the only nations clashing in combat. To determine which countries are currently at war, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data from independent online data site the World Population Review about ongoing conflicts. We independently verified the presence of each ongoing conflict and removed countries we were unable to verify. We also added, using different sources, the list of forces currently involved, which only include nations and factions that are actively fighting in the conflict. The wars on this list include wars between neighboring countries, insurgencies by factions within a country, and civil wars. The countries are listed in order of when the wars began. Population figures came from the World Bank and are for 2021.
Having started in February of last year, the Russia-Ukraine war is also the most recent to begin on the world stage. Other conflicts have been raging for many years.
In 1960, the former British colony of Somaliland merged with Italian Somalia. After declaring independence in 1991, the African nation fell into a civil war as warring factions battled for control of the country following the overthrow of dictator Siad Barre.
A humanitarian disaster ensued. To help, the U.S. became involved in the war when it sent it an elite special force to the capital city of Mogadishu in 1993 to capture warlord Farrah Aidid, whose men had been attaching U.N. peacekeepers. The operation failed as 18 Americans and scores of Somalis died. President Bill Clinton ordered all special forces out of the country in 1994. The disastrous mission was chronicled in both the book and movie, “Black Hawk Down.” (Check out the best war movies of all time.)
Click here to see 29 countries currently at war.
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