The World's Active Conflict Zones

Where wars and insurgencies are being fought, as of October 2026.

A geography of conflict: who holds the ground, where civilians have fled, and what the fighting is over. Each entry is dated and attributed, because front lines move faster than reference books. Situations as of October 2026.

#	Place	Where	When
1	The West Bank Hill country west of the Jordan River at the center of the debate over a Palestinian state	West Bank, Palestinian territories	Captured by Israel 1967
2	The Central Sahel The Mali–Burkina Faso–Niger borderlands, epicenter of the world's deadliest jihadist insurgencies	Liptako-Gourma, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger	Conflict since 2012
3	Donbas Ukraine's eastern coal-and-steel heartland, mostly held by Russia and the crux of peace talks	Donbas, Ukraine	War since 2014
4	Cabo Delgado Mozambique's northernmost province, where an Islamic State-linked insurgency persists beside Africa's largest gas projects	Cabo Delgado Province, Mozambique	Insurgency since October 2017
5	Tigray Ethiopia's northern highland region, back at war in 2026 four years after the Pretoria peace deal	Tigray Region, Ethiopia	Conflict since November 2020
6	Eastern DR Congo (the Kivus) Volcanic, mineral-rich highlands on Rwanda's border where the AFC/M23 rebellion holds Goma and Bukavu	North and South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo	M23 offensive since late 2021
7	Port-au-Prince Haiti's capital, where armed gangs control most of the city and a UN-authorized force has begun operations	Port-au-Prince, Haiti	Gang crisis deepened after 2021
8	Darfur Sudan's vast western region, almost entirely under RSF control since the fall of El Fasher	Darfur, Sudan	Current war since April 2023
9	Rakhine State Myanmar's Bay of Bengal coast, now mostly held by the Arakan Army and ancestral home of the Rohingya	Rakhine State, Myanmar	Arakan Army offensive since November 2023
10	The Gaza Strip A narrow Mediterranean coastal strip divided by a ceasefire line since October 2025	Gaza Strip, Palestinian territories	Current war began October 2023

Place

Where

When

The West Bank
Hill country west of the Jordan River at the center of the debate over a Palestinian state

West Bank, Palestinian territories

Captured by Israel 1967

The Central Sahel
The Mali–Burkina Faso–Niger borderlands, epicenter of the world's deadliest jihadist insurgencies

Liptako-Gourma, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger

Conflict since 2012

Donbas
Ukraine's eastern coal-and-steel heartland, mostly held by Russia and the crux of peace talks

Donbas, Ukraine

War since 2014

Cabo Delgado
Mozambique's northernmost province, where an Islamic State-linked insurgency persists beside Africa's largest gas projects

Cabo Delgado Province, Mozambique

Insurgency since October 2017

Tigray
Ethiopia's northern highland region, back at war in 2026 four years after the Pretoria peace deal

Tigray Region, Ethiopia

Conflict since November 2020

Eastern DR Congo (the Kivus)
Volcanic, mineral-rich highlands on Rwanda's border where the AFC/M23 rebellion holds Goma and Bukavu

North and South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo

M23 offensive since late 2021

Port-au-Prince
Haiti's capital, where armed gangs control most of the city and a UN-authorized force has begun operations

Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Gang crisis deepened after 2021

Darfur
Sudan's vast western region, almost entirely under RSF control since the fall of El Fasher

Darfur, Sudan

Current war since April 2023

Rakhine State
Myanmar's Bay of Bengal coast, now mostly held by the Arakan Army and ancestral home of the Rohingya

Rakhine State, Myanmar

Arakan Army offensive since November 2023

The Gaza Strip
A narrow Mediterranean coastal strip divided by a ceasefire line since October 2025

Gaza Strip, Palestinian territories

Current war began October 2023

Listed from oldest to newest. Each entry has the full story, key facts, a map, and sources. Browse all guides or open the explore map.