Countries

Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the war has increasingly reached Russian territory. Border regions such as Belgorod, Kursk and Bryansk have experienced shelling and cross-border fighting, and long-range drones have struck oil refineries, airfields and other facilities deep inside Russia.

Background as of 2026-10

Armed conflict in Ukraine began in 2014 in the eastern Donbas region and escalated into a full-scale war when Russian forces invaded on 24 February 2022. Fighting, strikes on cities and attacks on energy infrastructure have been reported across much of the country since then.

Background as of 2026-10

Tensions over Iran’s nuclear programme and its regional alliances led to direct military confrontation with Israel in 2024 and 2025. In June 2025 Israel launched strikes on Iranian nuclear and military sites, the United States struck three nuclear facilities, and Iran fired missiles at Israel, in a 12-day war that ended with a ceasefire.

Background as of 2026-10

Iraq has experienced repeated conflict since the US-led invasion of 2003, including a sectarian civil war and the rise of the Islamic State group, which seized Mosul in 2014. Iraqi forces, Kurdish Peshmerga, the Popular Mobilisation Forces and a US-led coalition defeated the group territorially by December 2017.

Background as of 2026-10

Since the Hamas-led attack of 7 October 2023, Israel has been involved in fighting on several fronts: in Gaza, with Hezbollah in Lebanon, with the Houthi movement in Yemen and directly with Iran. Rockets, missiles and drones launched towards Israel have caused damage and casualties, while Israeli strikes have reached several countries in the region.

Background as of 2026-10

Hezbollah began firing at Israeli positions on 8 October 2023, the day after the Hamas-led attack on Israel. Cross-border exchanges escalated into a full-scale Israeli air campaign and ground operation in southern Lebanon in September 2024, ending with a US- and French-brokered ceasefire on 27 November 2024.

Background as of 2026-10

This page covers the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. On 7 October 2023 Hamas-led armed groups attacked southern Israel, killing and abducting many people and taking hostages into Gaza. Israel responded with a military campaign in Gaza that lasted two years and caused widespread destruction.

Background as of 2026-10

Syria’s civil war began after the government’s crackdown on protests in 2011 and drew in many armed groups and foreign states. On 8 December 2024 the government of Bashar al-Assad fell after a rapid offensive led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS); Ahmed al-Sharaa became interim president in January 2025.

Background as of 2026-10

Yemen’s war began when the Houthi movement (Ansar Allah) took the capital Sanaa in September 2014. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognised government. A UN-mediated truce in April 2022 greatly reduced large-scale fighting, although it formally expired in October 2022.

Background as of 2026-10

Burkina Faso has faced a jihadist insurgency since 2015, spreading from the north and east to much of the country. Armed groups linked to al-Qaeda (JNIM) and the Islamic State control or contest large rural areas and have besieged a number of towns.

Background as of 2026-10

The Central African Republic (CAR) has been in crisis since 2013, when the mainly Muslim Séléka rebel coalition seized the capital Bangui, provoking reprisals by anti-balaka militias. A UN peacekeeping mission, MINUSCA, deployed in 2014.

Background as of 2026-10

Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has seen armed conflict for three decades, involving more than a hundred armed groups and the involvement of neighbouring states. The M23 armed group resumed fighting in late 2021; the question of foreign support for it is a central issue in regional diplomacy.

Background as of 2026-10

War in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region began in November 2020 between the federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), drawing in Eritrean forces and Amhara regional forces. It ended with the Pretoria agreement of 2 November 2022.

Background as of 2026-10

Libya has been divided since shortly after the 2011 uprising that ended Muammar Gaddafi’s rule. Rival authorities emerged in the west and east in 2014. An offensive on Tripoli by forces led by Khalifa Haftar in 2019–2020 ended in a ceasefire in October 2020.

Background as of 2026-10

Conflict in Mali began in 2012 with a Tuareg separatist rebellion in the north, quickly followed by the takeover of northern towns by jihadist groups. French intervention in 2013 pushed them back, but armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State spread into central Mali and neighbouring countries.

Background as of 2026-10

An insurgency in the northern province of Cabo Delgado began in October 2017 with an attack on Mocímboa da Praia. The armed group, known locally as al-Shabaab and linked to the Islamic State, seized towns and in March 2021 attacked Palma, near major gas projects.

Background as of 2026-10

Niger faces armed groups on several fronts: groups linked to the Islamic State and al-Qaeda in the Tillabéri and Tahoua regions near Mali and Burkina Faso, and Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province in the Diffa region near Lake Chad.

Background as of 2026-10

Nigeria faces several overlapping conflicts. In the north-east, Boko Haram has waged an insurgency since 2009, and its offshoot, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), has been active since 2016. In the north-west, armed gangs often called “bandits” carry out raids and mass kidnappings, and violence between farming and herding communities affects the central states.

Background as of 2026-10

Somalia has had no fully functioning central government for much of the period since 1991. The armed group al-Shabaab, affiliated with al-Qaeda, has fought the federal government since the late 2000s and controls or contests large rural areas in the south and centre.

Background as of 2026-10

South Sudan became independent from Sudan in 2011. A civil war broke out in December 2013 between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and those aligned with Vice-President Riek Machar, and ended with a revitalised peace agreement in 2018 and a unity government in 2020.

Background as of 2026-10

War broke out in Sudan on 15 April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), beginning in the capital Khartoum and spreading to Darfur, Kordofan and other regions.

Background as of 2026-10

The Taliban took control of Afghanistan on 15 August 2021 as US and NATO forces completed their withdrawal, ending a 20-year war. Large-scale fighting inside the country has since declined, but the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) has carried out attacks, and tensions with neighbouring Pakistan have grown.

Background as of 2026-10

Myanmar’s military seized power on 1 February 2021, detaining the elected leadership. Mass protests were followed by armed resistance, and fighting between the military and a range of armed groups has since spread across many states and regions.

Background as of 2026-10

Pakistan faces several armed conflicts at once: an insurgency by the Pakistani Taliban (Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, TTP) mainly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a separatist insurgency in Balochistan, and recurring confrontation with India over Kashmir.

Background as of 2026-10

Colombia’s armed conflict lasted more than half a century. The 2016 peace agreement with the FARC guerrillas led to their disarmament, but other armed groups, including the ELN guerrillas, FARC dissident factions and the Clan del Golfo, have fought for control of territory and drug-trafficking routes.

Background as of 2026-10

Armed gangs have expanded their control over much of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, and surrounding regions, especially since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021. A coordinated gang offensive in early 2024 led to the resignation of the prime minister and the creation of a Transitional Presidential Council.

Background as of 2026-10