Portal:Civilwar

Civil War Portal

Scene of the Battle of Aleppo in 2012 during the Syrian civil war

A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies. The term is a calque of Latin bellum civile which was used to refer to the various civil wars of the Roman Republic in the 1st century BC. Civil here means "of/related to citizens", a civil war being a war between the citizenry, rather than with an outsider.

Most modern civil wars involve intervention by outside powers. According to Patrick M. Regan in his book Civil Wars and Foreign Powers (2000) about two thirds of the 138 intrastate conflicts between the end of World War II and 2000 saw international intervention.

A civil war is often a high-intensity conflict, often involving regular armed forces, that is sustained, organized and large-scale. Civil wars may result in large numbers of casualties and the consumption of significant resources.

Civil wars since the end of World War II have lasted on average just over four years, a dramatic rise from the one-and-a-half-year average of the 1900–1944 period. While the rate of emergence of new civil wars has been relatively steady since the mid-19th century, the increasing length of those wars has resulted in increasing numbers of wars ongoing at any one time. For example, there were no more than five civil wars underway simultaneously in the first half of the 20th century while there were over 20 concurrent civil wars close to the end of the Cold War. Since 1945, civil wars have resulted in the deaths of over 25 million people, as well as the forced displacement of millions more. Civil wars have further resulted in economic collapse; Somalia, Burma (Myanmar), Uganda and Angola are examples of nations that were considered to have had promising futures before being engulfed in civil wars. (Full article...)

Major Civil Wars

An Lushan Rebellion (755–763) – Devastating civil war during Tang dynasty China that severely weakened the empire.
English Civil War (1642–1651) – Series of armed conflicts between Parliamentarians and Royalists over governance and religious freedom.
Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864) – Massive religious and political civil war in Qing dynasty China, one of the deadliest conflicts in human history.
American Civil War (1861–1865) – Conflict between the Northern Union and Southern Confederate states over slavery and state sovereignty.
Dungan Revolt (1862–1877) – Ethnic and religious war fought primarily between Hui Muslims and Han Chinese in western China.
Mexican Revolution (1910–1920) – Multi-sided armed struggle that transformed Mexican society and politics.
Russian Civil War (1917–1922) – Multi-party war in the former Russian Empire following the Russian Revolution, establishing the Soviet Union.
Chinese Civil War (1927–1949) – War fought between the Kuomintang-led Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party.
Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) – Military revolt against the Second Spanish Republic led by General Francisco Franco, backed by fascist powers.
Greek Civil War (1944–1949) – Struggle between the Greek government army and the Communist-led Democratic Army of Greece.
Colombian Conflict (1964–2016) – Low-intensity asymmetric war involving the Colombian government, far-left guerrillas, and far-right paramilitaries.
Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970) – Conflict caused by the attempted secession of the southeastern provinces of Nigeria as the Republic of Biafra.
Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990) – Complex multifaceted war resulting from demographic tensions and foreign intervention in Lebanon.
Angolan Civil War (1975–2002) – Post-independence power struggle that turned into a major Cold War proxy conflict.
Second Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005) – Conflict between the central Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army that eventually led to South Sudan's independence.
Sri Lankan Civil War (1983–2009) – Insurgency against the Sri Lankan government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam seeking an independent Tamil state.
Somali Civil War (1991–present) – Ongoing armed conflict arising from the failure of the central government and rise of competing clan factions.
Algerian Civil War (1991–2002) – Violent war between the Algerian government and various Islamist rebel groups.
Bosnian War (1992–1995) – Complex ethnic conflict following the breakup of Yugoslavia involving Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats.
Syrian Civil War (2011–present) – Multi-sided civil conflict stemming from the 2011 Arab Spring protests against Bashar al-Assad's government.
Yemeni Civil War (2014–present) – Ongoing conflict between the Houthi movement and the internationally recognized Yemeni government.
Myanmar Civil War (2021–present) – Widespread armed insurgency triggered by the military coup d'état against the democratically elected government.
Sudanese Civil War (2023–present) (2023–present) – Power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Key Figures

Alexandros Papagos (Greek: Αλέξανδρος Παπάγος; 9 December 1883^[1] – 4 October 1955) was a Greek military officer who led the Hellenic Army in World War II and in the later stages of the subsequent Greek Civil War. Afterwards, he served as Prime Minister of Greece from 1952 to 1955.

The only Greek army career officer to rise to the rank of Field Marshal, Papagos became the first Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff from 1950 until his resignation the following year. He then entered politics, founding the nationalist Greek Rally party and becoming the country's Prime Minister after his victory in the 1952 elections. (Full article...)

Did You Know...

... that the Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864) was led by a man who believed he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ, resulting in one of the deadliest conflicts in human history?
... that during the Nigerian Civil War in 1967, both opposing sides declared a 48-hour ceasefire just to watch football legend Pelé play an exhibition match in Lagos?
... that the first major battle of the American Civil War took place on the property of Wilmer McLean, who moved away to escape the fighting—only to have General Lee surrender in his new living room four years later?
... that the term "Fifth Column" originated during the Spanish Civil War when General Emilio Mola claimed four military columns were attacking Madrid while a secret fifth column was waiting inside the city?
... that the Wars of the Roses, a series of 15th-century English civil wars between the Houses of Lancaster and York, served as the primary historical inspiration for George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire?

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In the News

28 August 2026 – Sudanese civil war: Blue Nile campaign; Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) says that they have seized the Bakori and Surkum army bases in the southeastern Blue Nile region alongside Sudan People's Liberation Movement–North (SPLM–N). (Sudan Tribune); Kordofan campaign; Emergency Lawyers, an independent group documenting atrocities in Sudan, reports that eight civilians have been killed in drone strikes in the Sowdari District of North Kordofan. (AP) (Asharq Al Awsat)
28 August 2026 –: Two teenagers are arrested in Israel for allegedly pledging allegiance to ISIS and plotting an attack on security forces at the Temple Mount and an IDF base in northern Israel. (Ynetnews) (The Times of Israel)
27 August 2026 – Middle Eastern crisis: Gaza–Israel conflict; The IDF also confirms that they have recently killed two Hamas militants that invaded the Re'im Base in Re'im during the October 7 attacks in separate strikes in the Gaza Strip, including a body guard to former leader Yahya Sinwar and a Nukhba forces militant. (The Times of Israel); Qatar as a mediator in conflict; The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reports that a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz was hit by an "unknown projectile", causing a fire that was later extinguished. (Marine Insight)
27 August 2026 – Sudanese Civil Wars: Sudanese civil war

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↑ Note: Greece officially adopted the Gregorian calendar on 16 February 1923 (which became 1 March). All dates prior to that, unless specifically denoted, are Old Style.

[1] Note: Greece officially adopted the Gregorian calendar on 16 February 1923 (which became 1 March). All dates prior to that, unless specifically denoted, are Old Style.

[1]