The following is a list of non-international armed conflicts, fought between territorial and/or intervening state forces and non-state armed groups or between non-state armed groups within the same state or country. The terms "intrastate conflict", "internecine conflict", "internal conflict" and "civil war" are often used interchangeably with "non-international armed conflict", but "internecine war" can be used in a wider meaning, referring to any conflict within a single state, regardless of the participation of civil state or non-state forces. Thus, any war of succession is by definition an internecine war, but not necessarily a non-international armed conflict.
Terminology The Latin term bellum civile, meaning in English, civil war, was used to describe wars within a single community beginning around 60 A.D. The term is an alternative title for the work sometimes called Pharsalia by Lucan (Marcus Annaeus Lucanus) about the Roman civil wars that began in the last third of the second century BC. The term civilis here had the very specific meaning of 'Roman citizen'. Since the 17th century, the term has also been applied retroactively to other historical conflicts where at least one side claims to represent the country's civil society (rather than a feudal dynasty or an imperial power).OED: "war between the citizens or inhabitants of a single country, state, or community". Early use of the term in reference to neither the Roman Republic nor the English Civil War include the War in the Vendée (1802) and the civil war in Portugal ( 1835, 1836).
Since 1949, the term "non-international armed conflict" has been widely used to refer to armed conflict between territorial and/or intervening state forces and non-state armed groups or between non-state armed groups within the same state or country, instead of civil war. The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)'s Arms Unit, Kathleen Lawand, stated "The ICRC generally avoids using the term 'civil war' when communicating with the parties to an armed conflict or publicly, and speaks instead of 'non-international' or 'internal' armed conflicts, as these expressions mirror the terms used in common Article 3 [of the 1949 Geneva Conventions]."
Ongoing non-international armed conflicts
The following non-international armed conflicts are ongoing as of April 2023. Only ongoing conflicts which meet the definition of a non-international armed conflict are listed. See List of ongoing armed conflicts and lists of active separatist movements for lists with a wider scope.
, Myanmar conflict, since 1948 (including the Myanmar civil war (2021–present))
, Kurdish–Turkish conflict, since 1921 (low-level since 2025) Maoist insurgency in Turkey, since 1972 DHKP/C insurgency in Turkey, since 1990 Turkey–Islamic State conflict, since 2013 AK Party–Gülen movement conflict, since 2013 (low-level since 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt) , Jamaican political conflict, since 1943 , Insurgency in Northeast India, since 1954 Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, since 1989 , Papua conflict, since 1962 , Katanga insurgency, since 1963 Allied Democratic Forces insurgency, since 1996 Ituri conflict, since 1999 Kivu conflict, since 2004 , Colombian conflict, since 1964 , New People's Army rebellion, since 1969 , Western Sahara conflict, since 1970 , Cabinda War, since 1975 , Insurgency in Laos, since 1975 , Somali Civil War, since 1991
, Afghan conflict, since 1978 Islamic State–Taliban conflict, since 2015 Republican insurgency in Afghanistan, since 2021 , Internal conflict in Peru, since 1980 , Casamance conflict, 1982–2014 (main conflict), since 2015 (low-level conflict) , Herder–farmer conflicts in Nigeria, since 1998 Boko Haram insurgency, since 2009 Nigerian bandit conflict, since 2011 Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present), since 2002 , Iraqi conflict, since 2003 Iraqi insurgency (2017–present), since 2017 , South Thailand insurgency, since 2004 , Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, since 2004
, Insurgency in Paraguay, since 2005
, Mexican drug war, since 2006 , Sudanese nomadic conflicts, since 2008; Sudanese civil war (2023–present), since 2023
War in the Sahel, since 2011 , Mali War, since 2012 , Islamist insurgency in Burkina Faso, since 2015 , Islamist insurgency in Niger, since 2016 , Central African Republic Civil War, since 2012
, Yemeni civil war (2014–present), since 2014
, Anglophone Crisis, since 2017 , Insurgency in Cabo Delgado, since 2017
, Ethiopian civil conflict (2018–present), since 2018 OLA insurgency, since 2018 War in Amhara, since 2023
, Haitian conflict, since 2020 , Chittagong Hill Tracts conflict, since 2022 , Ecuadorian conflict (2024–present), since 2024
Past non-international armed conflicts
Ancient and early medieval (before 1000)
This is a list of intrastate armed conflicts. Note that some conflicts lack both an article or citation. Without citation, they have not been guaranteed to have happened.
The First Intermediate Period of Egypt, Second Intermediate Period of Egypt and Third Intermediate Period of Egypt were periods of political disunity in Ancient Egypt's history, characterized by frequent warfare between dynasties competing for dominance The Persian Revolt was a campaign led by Cyrus the Great against Median rule of Persia (552–550 BC) Civil war between Artaxerxes II and Cyrus III (c. 401 BC) Roman civil wars (a list of numerous civil wars in the late Roman Republic and in the Roman Empire, between 100 BC and AD 400) Hasmonean civil war (67–63 BC) Sasanian civil war of 589–591 Sasanian civil war of 628–632 First Fitna, 656–661, the first Islamic "civil war" between Ali and the Umayyads Second Fitna, c. 680/683 – c. 685/692, the second Islamic "civil war" between the Umayyads and Ibn al-Zubayr Twenty Years' Anarchy, 695–717, prolonged period of internal instability in the Byzantine Empire Civil War between Artabasdos and Constantine V, 741–743 Third Fitna, 744–752, including the Umayyad civil wars of 744–748 and the Abbasid Revolution An Lushan Rebellion, 16 December 755 – 17 February 763 Fourth Fitna, 809–827, including the Abbasid civil wars and other regional conflicts Anarchy of the 12 Warlords, 944–968
Medieval (1000–1600) Fitna of al-Andalus, 1009–1031 Wars of the Guelphs and Ghibellines in Germany and Italy, 1125–1392 Civil war era in Norway, 1130–1240 Danish Civil Wars, 1131–1157 The Anarchy, 1135–1153 Civil war in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem between King Baldwin III and dowager Queen Melisende (1152–1153) Pandyan Civil War, 1169–1177 Revolt of 1173–1174 German throne dispute, 1198–1215; civil war within the Holy Roman Empire between the Hohenstaufen and Welf factions. First Barons' War, 1215–1217 Age of the Sturlungs, 1220 – 1262/64 Great Interregnum in the Holy Roman Empire, 1250–1273 Second Barons' War, 1264–1267 Hungarian Civil War, 1264–1265 Civil War of Livonia between Livonian Order and the city of Riga and the Archbishopric of Riga, 1297–1330. Despenser War, 1321–1322 Invasion of England, 1326. Continuation of the Despenser War. Byzantine civil war of 1321–1328 Byzantine civil war of 1341–1347 Byzantine civil war of 1352–1357 Castilian Civil War, 1366–1369 Byzantine civil war of 1373–1379 Jingnan campaign, 1399-1402 Welsh Revolt, 1400–1415 Ottoman Interregnum, 1402–1413 Regreg War, 1404 - 1406 Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War, 1407–1435 Kashmir Civil War, 1419–1420 Hussite Wars, 1419–1434 Great Feudal War in Russia, 1425–1453 Swedish Civil War (1438–1439) Wars of the Roses, 1455–1485 Catalan Civil War (1462–1472) Ōnin War, 1467–1477 Sengoku period, 1467–1615 War of the Castilian Succession, 1475–1479 Popular revolts in late-medieval Europe German Peasants' War, 1524–1525 Civil War in Kazakh Khanate, 1522–1538 Inca Civil War, 1529–1532 Civil War Era in Vietnam, 1533–1789 Lê–Mạc Dynasties War, 1533–1677 Count's Feud, 1534–1536 French Wars of Religion, 1562–1598 Marian civil war, 1568–1573 War against Sigismund, 1598–1599
Early modern (1600–1800) Trịnh–Nguyễn Lords War, 1627–1772; 1774–1775 Tây Sơn wars, 1771–1802 Zebrzydowski rebellion, 1606–1609 Shimabara Rebellion, 1637–1638 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, 1639–1651 involved a number of civil wars: Irish Confederate Wars, some parts of which were a civil war. F. Warner, 1768 Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, to some extent a civil war, 1644–1652 English Civil War, 1642–1651 First English Civil War, 1642–1646 Second English Civil War, 1648–1649 Third English Civil War, 1650–1651 Acadian Civil War, 1640–1645 The Fronde, 1648–1653 The Ruin, 1659–1686 Brunei Civil War, 1660s—1673 Lubomirski's rebellion, 1665–1666 Kongo Civil War, 1665–1709 Monmouth Rebellion, May–July 1685 Glorious Revolution, 1688–1689 War of the Spanish Succession, 1701–1714 Javanese Wars of Succession, 1703 - 1755 Choctaw Civil War, 1747–1750 Pugachev's Rebellion, 1773–1775 American Revolutionary War 1775–83 - The American Revolution started as a civil war within the British Empire. It became a larger international war in 1778 once France joined. Yoruba Wars, 1789 - 1839 Brabant Revolution, 1789; between Belgian forces and the Austrian Empire Chouannerie, 1792–1800; between Royalist and Republican forces, part of the French Revolutionary Wars War in the Vendée, 1793–1804; between Royalist and Republican forces, part of the French Revolutionary Wars
Modern (1800–1945) Padri War, 1803–1837 Musket Wars, 1806–1845 Gutiérrez–Magee Expedition, 1812–1813 Argentine Civil Wars, 1814–1880 Ndwandwe–Zulu War, 1817–1819 Long Expedition, 1819, 1821 Greek Civil Wars, 1823–1825 Ochomogo War, 1823 Fredonian Rebellion, 1826–1827 Liberal Wars, in Portugal, 1828–1834 Chilean Civil War, 1829–1830 Revolutions of 1830; numerous European countries, 1830 Egyptian–Ottoman War (1831–1833) Carlist Wars, 1833–1839, 1846–1849, and 1872–1876 Texas Revolution 1835–1836 Ragamuffin War, 1835–1845 League War, 1835 Chimayó Rebellion, 1837 Córdova Rebellion, 1838 Uruguayan Civil War, 1839–1851 War of the Supremes, 1839–1842 Rio Grande Rebellion, 1840 Yucatán Rebellion, 1841–1848 The New Zealand Wars, 1845 - 1872 Bear Flag Revolt, 1846 Patuleia War, Portugal, 1846–1847 Sonderbund War, November 1847 Revolutions of 1848; numerous European countries, 1848–1849 Revolution of 1851 Taiping Rebellion, 1850–1864 Bleeding Kansas, 1854–1858 Indian Rebellion of 1857 Utah War, 1857–1858 Bendahara War, 1857–1863 War of Reform, 1857–1861 Banjarmasin War, 1859–1863 Federal War, 1859–1863 Larut Wars, 1861–1874 American Civil War, 1861–1865 Afghan Civil War, 1863–1869 Austro-Prussian War, 1866 Klang War; also known as Selangor Civil War, 1867–1874 Boshin War, 1868–1869 Satsuma Rebellion, 1877 Jementah Civil War, 1878 Afghan Civil War, 1880–1881 The North-West Rebellion, 1885 Revolution of the Park, 1890 Chilean Civil War, 1891 Argentine Revolution of 1893, 1893 War of Canudos, 1896–1897 Federal Revolution, 1898 Boxer Rebellion, 1899-1901 Philippine–American War, 1899–1902 Moro Rebellion, 1899–1913 Thousand Days' War, 1899–1902 Liberating Revolution (Venezuela), 1901–1903 Argentine Revolution of 1905, 1905 Russian Revolution of 1905, 1905–1907 Persian Constitutional Revolution, 1905–1911, Civil War considered to begin after 1908 Mexican Revolution, 1910–1920 Paraguayan Civil War, 1911–1912 War of 1912, 1912 Warlord Era; period of civil wars between regional, provincial, and private armies in China, 1912–1928 First Caco War, 1915 Second Caco War, 1918–1920 Russian Civil War, 1917–1923 Iraqi–Kurdish conflict, 1918–2003 Finnish Civil War, 1918 Ukrainian–Soviet War, 1917–1921 German Revolution, 1918–1919 Revolts during the Turkish War of Independence, includes conflict between the Imperial Ottoman Government and the Turkish National Movement, 1919–1922 First Honduran Civil War, 1919 Irish Civil War, 1922–1923 Paraguayan Civil War, 1922–1923 Second Honduran Civil War, 1924 Nicaraguan Civil War, 1926–1927 Cristero War, 1926–1929