Nigerian Civil War

Nigerian Civil War
The independent state of the Republic of Biafra in June 1967
Date 6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970 (2 years, 6 months, 1 week and 2 days) Location The geographical southeastern Nigeria Result Nigerian victory Biafra rejoins Nigeria
Belligerents
Nigeria	Biafra
Supported by:  USA  United Kingdom  Soviet Union Bulgaria  Syria  Egypt  Algeria	Supported by: France Israel Portugal  Spain  South Africa  Rhodesia  Tanzania
Commanders and leaders
Yakubu Gowon Murtala Mohammed Benjamin Adekunle Olusegun Obasanjo Mohammed Shuwa E.A. Etuk Shehu Musa Yar'Adua Theophilus Danjuma Ibrahim Haruna Ipoola Alani Akinrinade Ted Hamman  † Muhammadu Buhari Ibrahim Babangida  (WIA) Isaac Adaka Boro  † Idris Garba	Odumegwu Ojukwu Philip Effiong Alexander Madiebo Albert Okonkwo Victor Banjo Ogbugo Kalu Joseph Achuzie Azum Asoya Mike Inveso Timothy Onwuatuegwu  † Rolf Steiner Festus Akagha Lynn Garrison Taffy Williams Jonathan Uchendu Ogbo Oji  (WIA) Humphrey Chukwuka H.M. Njoku
Strength
Nigerian troops: 85,000 - 150,000 (1967) (Possible 100,000) 250,000 (1968) 200,000 - 250,000 (1970)	Biafran troops: 10,000 - 100,000 (1967) (Possible 30,000) 110,000 (1968) 50,000 - 100,000 (1970)
Casualties and losses
Military killed: 45,000 - 100,000 killed Displaced: 2,000,000 - 4,500,000 Refugees: 500,000 - 3,000,000

Nigerian victory

 Egypt

Military killed: 45,000 - 100,000 killed

Displaced: 2,000,000 - 4,500,000

The Nigerian Civil War, better known as the Biafran War, (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), was a war fought to counter the secession of Biafra from Nigeria. Biafra represented nationalist aspirations of the Igbo people, whose leadership felt they could no longer coexist with the Northern-dominated federal government. The conflict resulted from political, economic, ethnic, cultural and religious tensions which preceded Britain's formal decolonisation of Nigeria from 1960 to 1963. Immediate causes of the war in 1966 included a military coup, a counter-coup, and persecution of Igbo living in Northern Nigeria. Control over oil production in the Niger Delta played a vital strategic role.

Within a year, the Federal Military Government surrounded Biafra, capturing coastal oil facilities and the city of Port Harcourt. The blockade imposed during the ensuing stalemate led to severe famine—accomplished deliberately as a war strategy. Over the two and half years of the war, there were about 100,000 overall military casualties, while between 500,000 and 2 million Biafran civilians died from starvation.

This famine entered world awareness in mid-1968, when images of malnourished and starving children suddenly saturated the mass media of Western countries. The plight of the starving Biafrans became a cause célèbre in foreign countries, enabling a significant rise in the funding and prominence of international non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Britain and the Soviet Union were the main backers of the Federal Military Government in Lagos, while France and some independent elements supported Biafra. France and Israel provided weapons to both combatants.

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Wikipedia