2020s conflicts

On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the existing war between the two countries that began when Russia attacked Ukraine in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thousands of military casualties and tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilian casualties. As of April 2026, Russian troops occupy roughly 20% of Ukraine. From a population of 41 million, about 8 million Ukrainians have been internally displaced and 6–7 million have fled the country, creating Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II.

The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and Israel, fought as part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflicts. The war began on 7 October 2023, when the Palestinian militant group Hamas led a surprise attack on Israel, in which 1,195 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed and 251 were taken hostage. Since the start of the Israeli offensive that followed, over 72,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed. Several studies in The Lancet indicate this figure is likely a significant undercount. A wide consensus of scholarship has concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. The Israeli government and its supporters, including the United States, reject that conclusion.

The Russo-Ukrainian war began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia occupied Crimea and annexed it from Ukraine. It then supported Russian separatist armed groups who started a war in the eastern Donbas region against Ukraine's military. In 2018, Ukraine declared the region to be occupied by Russia. The first eight years of conflict also involved naval incidents and cyberwarfare. In February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine and began occupying more of the country, starting the current phase of the war, the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II. The war has resulted in a refugee crisis and hundreds of thousands of deaths.

armed conflict between NATO countries and Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021

military campaign started after September 11 attacks

Since April 2023, there has been a civil war in Sudan between two primary factions of the country's military government. The conflict involves the internationally recognized government, controlled by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) under General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by General Hemedti, who commands the broader Janjaweed coalition. Smaller armed groups have taken part. Fighting began on 15 April 2023 following a power struggle within the transitional administration established after the 2021 coup. As of 5 February 2025, the conflict has forcibly displaced 12 million people, with 3.5 million fleeing the country as refugees, making it one of the largest displacement crises in recent history.

term referring to heightened tensions in the 21st century

armed conflicts that started from January 2012

conflict among rival groups seeking to control of the territory of Libya

military actions against the Islamic State

2023 Houthi attacks on Red Sea

USA-led campaign against illegal drug use and trade

armed conflict between armed forces of Israel and armed forces of Gaza

Saudi war against Houthis in Yemen launched in 2015

conflict between Hezbollah and Israel since 2023 till 2024

Iran and Israel have been engaged in a proxy conflict since 1985. In the Israeli–Lebanese conflict, Iran has supported Lebanese Shia militias, most notably Hezbollah. In the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Iran has backed Palestinian groups such as Hamas. Israel has supported Iranian rebels, conducted airstrikes against Iranian allies in Syria, assassinated Iranian nuclear scientists, and directly attacked Iranian forces in Syria. In 2024 the proxy war escalated to a series of direct confrontations between the two countries, and in June 2025, they fought a 12-day war, involving the United States.

armed conflict in India between the state and Maoists

pseudo-conflict between Denmark and Canada over ownership of Hans Island

2025–2026 US military anti-drug trafficking operation

ongoing conflict

2009–present phase of the Somali Civil War

Sunni Islamic terrorism in the Maghreb

The Middle Eastern crisis is an ongoing series of interrelated wars, conflicts, and heightened instability in the Middle East as a result of the Gaza war and genocide. It has primarily consisted of conflicts between Israel and Iran-backed militias that form the "Axis of Resistance", including Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen; Iran itself has also been involved. Allies of Israel, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, have also intervened militarily in various theaters. The crisis has involved nearly all Middle Eastern countries, significantly affecting the region as a whole.

armed conflict in Cabo Delgado Province, Mozambique

separatist conflict in the region of West Papua

ongoing low-level conflict between the Government of Senegal and the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance since 1982

1975-present conflict in the Angolan exclave of Cabinda

armed conflict in Peru during 1980-2000 of left insurgent groups (Shining Path and MRTA) against Peruvian governments and far-right death squats

1990–present conflict between Moldova and its separatist region of Transnistria

ongoing crisis occurring in the country of Yemen

2017–present separatist conflict in Cameroon

conflicts in Libya from 2011 onwards

2022–present military conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

2015–present armed conflict in Afghanistan

armed conflict in Iraq

low intensity asymmetrical conflict between the agriculturalist Lendu and pastoralist Hema ethnic groups in the Ituri region of the north-eastern DR Congo; subconflict of Second Congo War (main phase 1999–2003; started in 1972, continues to present)

armed conflict between Morocco and self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and Polisario Front

United States operation in the Caribbean

violent conflict between the Western and Central factions of Ngogo chimpanzees

conflict between Gangs and the Nigerian government

Iraqi insurgency since the defeat of ISIL

diplomatic issue between Qatar and Saudi Arabia

Islamist insurgency in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda

armed proxy conflict in Western Asia since 2013

war throughout the Sahel and West Africa

armed conflict

communal conflicts

conflict between Afar Region and Somali region in Ethiopia

Clashes and airstrikes in Jazan, Najran and Asir in southern Saudi Arabia

insurgency in the west bank

series of attacks by Mobondo mainly Yaka militia on FARDC and Teke civilians since June 2022 till present

political conflict in Chile and Argentina today

conflict in Eastern Saudi Arabia between Shias and Sunnis

1983–2025 conflict

ongoing conflict between the government of Bangladesh and the PBCP and the PBCP-J

separatist conflict in eastern Ghana since 2020