Difference between revisions of "List of conflicts in the Middle East"

Revision as of 04:09, 5 April 2006

In the last 60 years, there have been a number of conflicts in the Middle East. Many of these conflicts have been part of the Arab-Israeli conflict: five wars between Israel and surrounding Arab countries (in 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973 and 1982). See also list of conflicts in the Maghreb.

Arab-Israeli conflict or Israeli-Palestinian conflict

• 1948 Arab-Israeli War
• 1956 Suez War
• 1967 Six Day War
• 1970 War of Attrition
• 1973 Yom Kippur War
• 1982 Lebanon War

Jordan-Syria tensions

As part of the broader tensions between monarchical, pro-Western governments and Nasserite, socialist governments, the Syrian governments of the sixties were opposed to the Jordanian monarchy; in 1960, the assassination of the Jordanian prime minister Hazza al-Majali was blamed on Syria (at the time, the United Arab Republic.) Tensions increased further after King Hussein ended official support for the PLO in 1966; in September 1970, a Syrian military unit crossed into Jordan to aid the PLO against the Jordanian army (see Black September in Jordan). The Syrian force was repulsed, but relations remained tense and were severed in July 1971. In 1975, Jordan and Syria attempted to put aside past hostilities between them and create a new alliance. In 1979, King Hussein of Jordan proposed an alternative to the Camp David accords to which Hafez al-Assad of Syria strongly objected; this marked the beginning of a rapid deterioration in Jordanian-Syrian relations. In 1979 Syria accused the Kingdom of Jordan of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood's attacks against Assad's government.

Yemen civil war

Egypt aided one side in a civil war in Yemen from 1962 to 1967. As the war expanded into a fight with another Arab nation, Saudi Arabia, Egypt withdrew its troops.

Dhofar war

In 1964, a leftist separatist rebellion began in the Omani province of Dhofar; it was aided by South Yemen and to a lesser extent other Marxist states. The government of Oman was aided first mainly by the United Kingdom, then Iran, as well as several other non-Marxist states. The rebellion ended in 1976.

Libya-Egypt conflict

Following Egypt's first negotiations with Israel in 1973, Libya became hostile to Egypt. In 1977, not long after demonstrators in the two countries attacked each other's consulates, the two countries fought a four-day war (July 21-July 24) during which several Libyan aircraft were destroyed on the ground. The war ended with no change to the status quo ante.

Iraq-Kuwait clashes

Kuwait and Iraq had a serious territorial dispute that led to armed warfare in 1973 and again in 1976. Iraq wanted Kuwait's oil and ports, and argued that Kuwait was rightfully theirs due to pre-British imperial boundaries. In 1990 Iraq occupied Kuwait, but was expelled in 1991.

• 1973 Iraq-Kuwait war
• 1976 Iraq-Kuwait war
• 1990-1991 Gulf War

The 2003 invasion of Iraq was launched from Kuwait territory.

The 1980 Iran-Iraq war

Sometimes called the First Persian Gulf War. In this war Syria entered on the side of Iran, against Iraq, with aid and supplies.

US-Iraq conflicts

There have been two major conflicts between the US and Iraq.

• 1990-1991 Gulf War

During the Gulf War, the US invaded Iraq after restoring the sovereignty of Kuwait. This was done under the UN flag by a coalition including the USA.

• 2003-2005 2003 invasion of Iraq

In 2003, the United States invaded and occupied Iraq after a dispute over the status of the Iraqi Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical weapons programs. This war is sometimes known as the Second Gulf War.

In the intervening period, the US, UK, and (until 1996) France continued to enforce no-fly zones over large areas of Iraq. Many people of Iraq and other countries considered this to be a continuous invasion of Iraqi airspace, and thus, one war from 1990-2005.

General conflicts of the US

"War on Terrorism" is a collective term for US involvement in several countries, including Afghanistan and Pakistan.