The Wars We’ve Forgotten
At the time of writing this article, two wars, and one potential conflict, absolutely dominate the headlines: the Russo-Ukrainian War, the Israel-Hamas War, and the potential war between China and Taiwan. These wars are, arguably, drawing in major amounts of coverage because they are loosely, if not directly, linked to major adversaries of Western powers. Russia is operating in Ukraine, Iran has ties to militia groups in open conflict with Israel, and China would be actively engaged in a potential invasion of Taiwan.
You don’t need to read SimpleNation to know, however, that the past 15 years have witnessed plenty of other conflicts that, although they continue to this day, are still raging on to varying degrees. They aren’t obscure ones, either - they certainly made headlines when they began, but it seems the average person has forgotten about them.
A dance instructor films her routine while Tatmadaw vehicles descend on Myanmar's Parliament in the background. Source: The Guardian
Myanmar
The military in Myanmar, or Tatmadaw as it’s known locally, has a long history of fading from, then returning to, power in Burmese politics. In February of 2021 - well within recent memory - the Tatmadaw declared the results of pro-democracy elections invalid, arrested the new parliament mere hours before they convened, and installed a one-year “state of emergency” in the country. The response from the Burmese public was massive: tens of thousands of people protested, enough to generate the creation of a parallel government that has declared war on the military junta. Several dozen armed groups with varying sizes, objectives, and capabilities now exist in open defiance of the Tatmadaw.
To further complicate matters, China appears to be supporting a number of groups - including both the Tatmadaw and several resistance factions. Although there is merely speculation at this time, it would appear that assistance is given to whoever happens to control the region where Chinese interests and assets lay, in order to maximise benefit to China.
Syria
Emerging out of the chaos of the Arab Spring from the early 2010s, the Syrian civil war is now in its 13th year - a considerable length for a modern conflict. Prior to the outbreak of warfare, many Syrians faced high unemployment, open corruption, and a lack of civil liberties. Protests broke out after 15 boys, inspired by acts in other countries such as Tunisia and Egypt, were arrested and tortured for spray-painting an anti-government slogan on a school wall. The Syrian army responded with extreme force, cracking down on protests and arresting hundreds of people in the first four months of 2011 alone.
A year later, the situation had spiraled into a civil war and complete breakdown of the state, after which Islamist fighters took advantage of the chaos to establish territory. So many competing interests began to take shape that at least five foreign militaries (the USA, the UK, Iran, Russia, and Turkey) began operations in Syria - some more directly than others. This is further excluding the different armed resistance groups also operating in Syria against government forces and terror groups.
Sudan
Thousands of people flee conflict in Sudan every day. Source: UNHCR
The situation in Sudan is perhaps the most serious conflict on this list. It’s certainly the youngest, having emerged as recently as April 2023.
Fighting originally broke out in Khartoum between rival military factions: the main branch of the Sudanese Armed Forces, and a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces. The breakdown in the relationship came from an attempted merger of the RSF into the SAF as a mainstream arm of the military - but disagreements over leadership of the new force continually intensified until violence emerged in Sudan.
The SAF was not even meant to lead the government at the time: an unpopular, ineffective prime minister was unable to rule without force, leaving him at the mercy of security services and, eventually, forcing a resignation - placing power into the hands of the SAF. Since the fighting began, not one attempted ceasefire agreement - usually drafted by the US or Saudi Arabia - has been upheld.
The humanitarian fallout from Sudan is staggering: 12 million people have been displaced, and the WHO is reporting that starvation has effectively become a nationwide problem.
