List of invasions in the 21st century

Last updated

This is a list of military invasions that occurred or are still ongoing in the 21st century.

Contents

InvasionInvading forcesDefending forces
2024 invasion of Lebanon Flag of Israel.svg  Israel InfoboxHez.PNG  Hezbollah
Part of the Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present) – On 1 October, Israel launched a military invasion of Lebanon against Hezbollah
August 2024 Ukrainian invasion of Kursk Oblast Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine Flag of Russia.svg  Russia
Part of the Russo-Ukrainian War – On 6 August, Ukraine launched a military invasion of Kursk Oblast. The largest settlement captured by Ukraine was Sudzha.
2023 invasion of the Gaza Strip Flag of Israel.svg  Israel Flag of Palestine.svg Gaza Strip
Flag of Hamas.svg Hamas
Islamic Jihad
PFLP
Flag of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.svg DFLP
Flag of the Al-Nasser Salah al-Deen Brigades.svg  PRC
Jaysh al-Ummah (Gaza)
Part of the Israel–Hamas war – After being attacked by Hamas earlier in 2023, Israel launched a large-scale invasion of the Gaza Strip to remove Hamas from political and military power, laying siege to Gaza City and Khan Yunis [1] [2] [3]
2022 al-Shabaab invasion of Ethiopia AQMI Flag asymmetric.svg Al-Shabaab Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia
Part of the Ethiopian–Somali conflict and Somali civil war – On 20 July, the Al-Shabaab militant group launched an invasion of Ethiopia’s Somali Region from Somalia. [4] The invasion was the largest attack by al-Shabaab in Ethiopian territory to date. [5]
2022 invasion of Ukraine Flag of Russia.svg  Russia
Flag of Donetsk People's Republic.svg Donetsk PR
Flag of the Luhansk People's Republic.svg Luhansk PR
Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine
Support and supplies from:
Part of the Russo-Ukrainian War – On 24 February, Russia launched a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine. The invasion became the largest attack on a European country since World War II. [6] [7] [8] It is estimated to have caused tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilian casualties and hundreds of thousands of military casualties. By June 2022, Russian troops occupied about 20% of Ukrainian territory and established military or military-civilian administrations in several regions and cities.
2017 invasion of the Gambia Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria
Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana
Flag of Mali.svg  Mali
Flag of Togo (3-2).svg  Togo
Flag of The Gambia.svg  Gambia
2014 Israeli invasion of Gaza Flag of Israel.svg  Israel Flag of Palestine.svg Gaza Strip
Flag of Hamas.svg Hamas
Islamic Jihad
PFLP
Flag of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.svg DFLP
2014 invasion of Ukraine Flag of Russia.svg RussiaFlag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine
Part of the Russo-Ukrainian War
2011 Invasion of Libya Flag of NATO.svg  NATO [lower-alpha 1] Flag of Libya (1977-2011).svg  Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Part of the Arab spring and the First Libyan Civil War
2011 invasion of Somalia Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya Flag of Somalia.svg  Somalia
Part of the Somali civil war
2009 invasion of Gaza Flag of Israel.svg IsraelFlag of Palestine.svg Gaza Strip
Part of the Gaza–Israel conflict
2008 invasion of Georgia Flag of Russia.svg RussiaFlag of Georgia.svg  Georgia
Part of the Abkhazia conflict, Georgian–Ossetian conflict, and Post-Soviet conflicts
2008 invasion of Anjouan Flag of the Comoros.svg  Comoros
Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal
Flag of Sudan.svg  Sudan
Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania
Flag of France (lighter variant).svg  France
Flag of Libya (1977-2011).svg  Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Flag of Anjouan (1997-2012).svg  Anjouan
2006 invasion of Lebanon Flag of Israel.svg  Israel InfoboxHez.PNG  Hezbollah
On July 22, Israel launched a military invasion of Lebanon against Hezbollah.
2006 invasion of Somalia Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia
Flag of Somalia.svg Transitional Federal Government
Flag of the United States.svg  United States [9]
Shahadah Flag.svg Islamic Courts Union
Flag of Ogaden National Liberation Front.svg ONLF [10] [11]
Flag of Eritrea.svg Eritrea
Part of the Ethiopian–Somali conflict
2004 invasion of Gaza Flag of Israel.svg Israel Flag of Hamas.svg Hamas
Flag placeholder.svg Islamic Jihad
PRC
Part of the Second Intifada
2003 invasion of Iraq Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Flag of Poland.svg  Poland
Flag of Iraq, 1991-2004.svg Iraq
Part of the war on terror and the Iraq War
2001 invasion of Afghanistan Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Flag of Afghanistan (1992-2001).svg Northern Alliance
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
Flag of Iran.svg  Iran
Flag of the Taliban.svg  Taliban
Flag of Jihad.svg Al-Qaeda
Flag of Jihad.svg Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan [12]
Tnsm-flag.svg Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi [13] [14]
Flag of JTJ.svg Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad [15] [16]
Part of the War in Afghanistan – Following the September 11 attacks, the United States declared the beginning of the war on terror. This subsequently led a multinational invasion of Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, which started on 7 October 2001. The goal of the invasion was to dismantle al-Qaeda, which had executed the attacks under the leadership of Osama bin Laden, and to deny Islamist militants a safe base of operations in Afghanistan by toppling the Taliban government. The capital city of Afghanistan, Kabul, was captured by the coalition on 13 November and the Taliban government collapsed on 17 December.

See also

Notes

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethiopian National Defense Force</span> Military force of Ethiopia

The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) is the military force of Ethiopia. Civilian control of the military is carried out through the Ministry of Defense, which oversees the Ground Forces, Air Force, Naval Force as well as the Defense Industry Sector.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isaias Afwerki</span> President of Eritrea since 1993

Isaias Afwerki is an Eritrean politician and partisan who has been the first and only president of Eritrea since 1993. In addition to being president, Isaias has been the chairman of Eritrea's sole legal political party, the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ogaden</span> Historic name of Somali Region, Ethiopia

Ogaden is one of the historical names used for the modern Somali Region. It is also natively referred to as Soomaali Galbeed. The region forms the eastern portion of Ethiopia and borders Somalia. It also includes another region to the north known as Haud.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ogaden War</span> 1977–1978 war between Ethiopia and Somalia over Ogaden region

The Ogaden War, also known as the Ethio-Somali War, was a military conflict fought between Somalia and Ethiopia from July 1977 to March 1978 over the sovereignty of Ogaden. Somalia's invasion of the region, precursor to the wider war, met with the Soviet Union's disapproval, leading the superpower to end its support for Somalia to fully support Ethiopia instead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ogaden National Liberation Front</span> Social and political movement in Africa

The Ogaden National Liberation Front is a social and political movement, founded in 1984 to campaign for the right to self-determination for Somalis in the Ogaden or Somali Region of Ethiopia. The armed wing of the ONLF waged an insurgency against the Ethiopian government from 1994 to 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eritrean War of Independence</span> 1961–1991 conflict within Ethiopia

The Eritrean War of Independence was an armed conflict and insurgency aimed at achieving self-determination and independence for Eritrea from Ethiopian rule. Starting in 1961, Eritrean insurgents engaged in guerrilla warfare to liberate Eritrea Province from the control of the Ethiopian Empire under Haile Selassie and later the Derg under Mengistu. Their efforts ultimately succeeded in 1991 with the fall of the Derg regime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War in Somalia (2006–2009)</span>

The Ethiopian invasion of Somalia, also known as the Ethiopian occupation of Somalia or the Ethiopian intervention in the Somali Civil War, was an armed conflict that lasted from late 2006 to early 2009. It began when military forces from Ethiopia, supported by the United States, invaded Somalia to depose the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) and install the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). The conflict continued after the invasion when an anti-Ethiopian insurgency emerged and rapidly escalated. During 2007 and 2008, the insurgency recaptured the majority of territory lost by the ICU.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethiopian Civil War</span> 1974–1991 conflict in Ethiopia

The Ethiopian Civil War was a civil war in Ethiopia and present-day Eritrea, fought between the Ethiopian military junta known as the Derg and Ethiopian-Eritrean anti-government rebels from 12 September 1974 to 28 May 1991.

The Somali Rebellion was the start of the Somali Civil War that began in the 1970s and resulted in the collapse of the Somali Democratic Republic in 1991. The rebellion effectively began in 1978 following a failed coup d’état and President Siad Barre began using his special forces, the "Red Berets", to attack clan-based dissident groups opposed to his regime. Backed by Ethiopia, the two earliest rebel factions, the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF) and the Somali National Movement (SNM) began attacks during the against government forces during the early 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military history of Ethiopia</span> Overview of Ethiopias involvement in military history

The military history of Ethiopia dates back to the foundation of early Ethiopian Kingdoms in 980 BC. Ethiopia has been involved in many of the major conflicts in the horn of Africa, and was one of the few native African nations which remained independent during the Scramble for Africa, managing to create a modern army. 19th and 20th century Ethiopian Military history is characterized by conflicts with the Dervish State, Mahdist Sudan, Egypt, and Italy, and later by a civil war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raid on Abole oil exploration facility</span> 2007 armed attack in Somali Region, Ethiopia

The raid on Abole oil exploration facility occurred in the early morning of 24 April 2007, when insurgents of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) attacked the oil exploration facility in the town of Abole, 30 km (19 mi) northwest of Degehabur, in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. The facility was operated by Zhongyuan Petroleum Exploration Bureau (ZPEB), a subsidiary of the China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) which was contracted on behalf of Malaysian oil and gas multinational Petronas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007–2008 Ethiopian crackdown in Ogaden</span> Military campaign of Ethiopian Army against the Ogaden National Liberation Front

The 2007–2008 Ethiopian crackdown in Ogaden was a military campaign by the Ethiopian Army against the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF). The crackdown against the guerrillas began after they killed over 60 Ethiopian troops and several foreign workers during a raid on a Chinese-run oil exploration field in April 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insurgency in Ogaden</span> Armed conflict for self determination in the Ogaden region from 1992 to 2018

The Insurgency in Ogaden was an armed conflict that took place from 1992 to 2018. It was waged by nationalist and islamist Somali insurgent groups seeking self determination for the region, primarily the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) and Al-Itihaad Al-Islamiya (AIAI). The war in the region began in 1992, when the Ethiopian government attacked AIAI in an attempt to suppress the growth of the organization. In 1994, the ONLF commenced its armed struggle and began publicly calling for an independent 'Ogadenia' state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1982 Ethiopian–Somali Border War</span> Ethiopian invasion of Somalia

The 1982 Ethiopian–Somali Border War occurred between June and August 1982 when Ethiopia, sending a 10,000 man invasion force backed by warplanes and armored units, supported by thousands of Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF) rebels invaded central Somalia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdullahi Ahmed Irro</span> Somali General and military professor (1937–2022)

Abdullahi Ahmed Irro, also known as Abdullahi Ahmed Yusuf Irro, was a prominent Somali military professor and general. He helped establish the National Academy for Strategy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1964 Ethiopian–Somali Border War</span> Two-month long border war between the Ethiopian Empire and Somali Republic

The 1964 Ethiopian–Somali Border War, also known as the First Ogaden War marked the first military conflict between the newly established Somali Republic and the Ethiopian Empire, lasting from February to April 1964. The border conflict was preceded by a rebellion in the Ogaden region during mid-1963 that was waged by Somalis seeking self-determination from imperial rule. Large scale Ethiopian counterinsurgency operations and increasingly harsh military crackdowns on the population of the Ogaden carried out by Emperor Haile Selassie's government resulted in a rapid decline in Ethio-Somali relations, leading to direct confrontation between both governments' armed forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fall of the Derg regime</span> 1991 downfall of the Ethiopian ruling junta

The (down)fall of the Derg was a military campaign that resulted in the defeat of the ruling Marxist–Leninist military junta, the Derg, by the rebel coalition Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) on 28 May 1991 in Addis Ababa, ending the Ethiopian Civil War. The Derg took power after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie and the Solomonic dynasty, an imperial dynasty of Ethiopia that began in 1270. The Derg suffered from insurgency with different factions, and separatist rebel groups since their early rule, beginning with the Ethiopian Civil War. The 1983–1985 famine, the Red Terror, and resettlement and villagization made the Derg unpopular with the majority of Ethiopians tending to support insurgent groups like the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF).

The 1995 Ethiopian Federal Constitution formalizes an ethnic federalism law aimed at undermining long-standing ethnic imperial rule, reducing ethnic tensions, promoting regional autonomy, and upholding unqualified rights to self-determination and secession in a state with more than 80 different ethnic groups. But the constitution is divisive, both among Ethiopian nationalists who believe it undermines centralized authority and fuels interethnic conflict, and among ethnic federalists who fear that the development of its vague components could lead to authoritarian centralization or even the maintenance of minority ethnic hegemony. Parliamentary elections since 1995 have taken place every five years since enactment. All but one of these have resulted in government by members of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) political coalition, under three prime ministers. The EPRDF was under the effective control of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which represents a small ethnic minority. In 2019 the EPRDF, under Abiy, was dissolved and he inaugurated the pan-ethnic Prosperity Party which won the 2021 Ethiopian Election, returning him as prime minister. But both political entities were different kinds of responses to the ongoing tension between constitutional ethnic federalism and the Ethiopian state's authority. Over the same period, and all administrations, a range of major conflicts with ethnic roots have occurred or continued, and the press and availability of information have been controlled. There has also been dramatic economic growth and liberalization, which has itself been attributed to, and used to justify, authoritarian state policy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 al-Shabaab invasion of Ethiopia</span> July-August 2022 incursion by Somali militants

On 20 July 2022, the Islamist militant group al-Shabaab launched an invasion from Somalia into Ethiopia's Somali Region. Taking advantage of the instability created by the Tigray war, the goal of the operation was to establish a presence for the group within southern Ethiopia.

References

  1. "Has Israel invaded Gaza? The military has been vague, even if its objectives are clear". Associated Press . 31 October 2023. Archived from the original on 1 November 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  2. Boxerman, Aaron (1 November 2023). "Israel Confirms Deaths of 15 Soldiers in Ground Invasion of Gaza". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  3. Turak, Natasha (12 December 2023). "Can Hamas actually be eliminated? This is what military and security analysts think". CNBC . Archived from the original on 18 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  4. Caleb Weiss; Ryan O'Farrell (25 July 2022). "Analysis: Shabaab's multi-day incursion into Ethiopia". Long War Journal. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  5. Harun Maruf (26 July 2022). "Why Did Al-Shabab Attack Inside Ethiopia?". VOA. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  6. Plokhy, Serhii (16 May 2023). The Russo-Ukrainian War: From the bestselling author of Chernobyl. Penguin Books. ISBN   978-1-80206-179-6. ... If the collapse of the USSR was sudden and largely bloodless, growing strains between its two largest successors would develop into limited fighting in the Donbas in 2014 and then into all-out warfare in 2022, causing death, destruction, and a refugee crisis on a scale not seen in Europe since the Second World War.
  7. Ramani, Samuel (13 April 2023). Putin's War on Ukraine: Russia's Campaign for Global Counter-Revolution. Hurst Publishers. ISBN   978-1-80526-003-5. ... However, the scale of Russia's invasion of Ukraine is unprecedented in modern history and, in terms of human costs, is Moscow's largest military intervention in the post-1945 period. ...
  8. D'Anieri, Paul (23 March 2023). Ukraine and Russia. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-1-009-31550-0. ... . Russia had done the unthinkable, deliberately starting the biggest war in Europe since World War II. ...
  9. Axe, David (2 December 2010). "WikiLeaked Cable Confirms U.S.' Secret Somalia Op". Wired . The Washington Post's Pauline Jelinek, citing anonymous sources, described U.S. Special Forces accompanying Ethiopian troops. CBS news revealed that U.S. Air Force gunships were active over southern Somalia during the Ethiopian blitz. Through all the reporting, U.S. officials remained vague or silent on the subject of Washington's involvement. All the same, evidence was mounting that the U.S. had played a leading role in the Ethiopian invasion.
  10. "Ogaden rebels destroy Ethiopian military convoy en route to Somalia". Sudan Tribune . Ogaden National Liberation Front. 2006-12-24. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  11. "Ogaden rebels to resist Ethiopian army if it attacks Somali-statement". Sudan Tribune . Ogaden National Liberation Front. 28 November 2006. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  12. "Uzbek Militancy in Pakistan's Tribal Region" (PDF). Institute for the Study of War. 27 January 2011. Retrieved 2023-11-30.
  13. "Inside rebel Pakistan cleric's domain - USATODAY.com". USA Today . 2009-05-01. Archived from the original on May 1, 2009. Retrieved 2023-11-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  14. "Top Pakistani militant released". BBC News. 2008-04-21. Archived from the original on 2009-05-22. Retrieved 2023-11-30.
  15. Whitlock, Craig (June 8, 2006). "Al-Zarqawi's Biography". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved 2023-11-30.
  16. Bergen, Peter. " The Osama bin Laden I Know, 2006