Minor Atrocities of the Twentieth Century

Alphabetical Index

Site Index

Here are the wars, oppressions and disturbances of the 20 Century which have caused fewer that 30,000 deaths, but more than 6,000.

1. Dutch Colonies (1900-14)
   • Democidal deaths among forced laborers in the Dutch East and West Indies:
     • Rummel: 10,000
2. Romania (1907)
   • Peasant Revolt
     • 11,000 rebels killed (Gilbert)
     • 2,000 battle deaths (S&S)
     • 2,000 total deaths (Eckhardt)
3. Korea (1907-12)
   • Righteous Army Uprising
     • Andrew Nahm, Korea: Tradition and Transformation (1988): 17,690 Koreans k.
     • Robert Oliver, History of the Korean People in Modern Times (1993): 17,697 Koreans, 136 Japanese killed
     • Bong-youn Choy, Korea: a History (1971): 17,000 insurgents, 966 pro-Japanese Koreans
4. Morocco (1907-11)
   • S&S:
     • Spanish-Moroccan War (1909-11)
       • Spain: 2,000
       • Morocco: 8,000
       • TOTAL: 10,000
     • Berber uprising (1911)
       • France: 150
       • Berbers: 1,500
   • Eckhardt:
     • 1907-08 w/ France: 1,000 civ.
     • 1909-10 w/ France: 1,000 civ. + 1,000 mil. = 2,000
     • 1909-10 w/Spain: 10,000 mil.
     • 1911 w/France: 1,000 civ. + 1,000 mil. = 2,000
     • TOTAL: 15,000
5. Italo-Turkish War (1911-12)
   • S&S:
     • Italy: 6,000
     • Turkey: 14,000
     • TOTAL: 20,000
   • Eckhardt: 20,000
   • Urlanis: 14,000
     • KIA: 6,000
     • Disease: 1,948 Italians + 4,000 Turks
     • Died of wounds: 400 Italians + 1,600 Turks
6. China, Revolutionary Era (1911-17)
   • S&S:
     • Republicans v Govt. (1911): 1,000
     • Republicans v Govt. (1913): 5,000
     • Pai-Lings v Govt. (1914): 5,000
     • TOTAL: 11,000
   • Eckhardt:
     • Republicans v Govt. (1911): 1,000 civ. + 1,000 mil. = 2,000
     • Republicans v Govt. (1913): 5,000 civ. + 5,000 mil. = 10,000
     • Bandits v Govt. (1913-14): 5,000 civ. + 5,000 mil. = 10,000
     • Pai-Lings v Govt. (1914): 5,000
     • TOTAL: 27,000
7. Russia (1916)
   • Kirghiz massacre Russians: 9,000 (Eckhardt)
8. Korea (1919)
   • March 1st Movement vs. Japanese
     • Andrew Nahm, Korea: Tradition and Transformation (1988): 1,200
     • Bong-youn Choy, Korea: a History (1971): 3,000 - 5,000
     • Sohn Pow-key, The History of Korea (1970): 7,509 Koreans, 8 Japanese killed
     • Ki-baik Lee, A New History of Korea (1984): 7,509 Koreans, from Japanese sources
     • Robert Oliver, History of the Korean People in Modern Times (1993): 7,645 Koreans killed
     • Korean Overseas Information Service, Focus on Korea: Korean History (1986): 25,000 Koreans
9. Hungary (1919-20)
   • External war (Apr.-Aug. 1919)
     • S&S, battle deaths:
       • Hungary: 6,000
       • Czech.: 2,000
       • Romania: 3,000
       • TOTAL: 11,000
     • Eckhardt: 11,000
   • Internal war, Govt. vs. anti-Communists (Mar. 1919-Feb. 1920):
     • Eckhardt: 4,000
     • S&S: 1,000
   • Post-war purge of Communists: 30 executed + 370 killed by mob (Gilbert)
   • Onwar.com
     • Red Terror: ca 590 executions
     • White Terror: ca 5,000 executions
     • Hungarian-Romanian War
       • Czech: 1,000
       • Hungary: 1,000
       • Romania: 2,000
10. India, uprisings against UK (1919-38)
    • Amritsar Massacre (1919): Officially, 379 (Johnson, Gilbert) killed, but unofficially, it gets rounded upwards: 500 (Our Times) or 1,000 (Eckhardt)
    • Eckhardt:
      • Amritsar (1918-19): 1,000 civ.
      • (1921-22): 11,000 civ.
      • (1936-38): 11,000 civ.
      • TOTAL: 23,000
11. Iraq (1920)
    • Arabs vs UK
      • Eckhardt: 1,000 mil.
      • 19 April 2003 Guardian: 9,000 Iraqis + 9 British
12. Japan (1923)
    • Massacre of immigrant Koreans following earthquake in Kanto
      • Andrew Nahm, Korea: Tradition and Transformation (1988): 20,000
      • Eckhardt: 10,000
      • Japan's War Responsibility Center: 6-10,000 [http://www.jca.apc.org/JWRC/exhibit/Korea59.htm]
      • PGtH: 4,000 Koreans beheaded by Black Dragon Society as scapegoats for earthquake.
13. Mexico (1923-24)
    • De la Huerta Uprising: 7,000 (Marley)
14. Afghanistan (1924-29)
    • Govt. vs. anti-reformists
      • 1924
        • S&S: 1,500
        • Eckhardt: 1,000 civ. + 1,000 mil. = 2,000
      • 1928-29
        • S&S: 7,500
        • Eckhardt: 4,000 civ. + 4,000 mil. = 8,000
15. Lebanon (1924-27)
    • Druze War
      • S&S: 4,000 French KIA (1924-25)
      • Eckhardt: 4,000 civ. + 4,000 mil. = 8,000 (1925-27)
16. Mexico (1926-30)
    • Govt. vs. Cristeros: 10,000 (S&S, Eckhardt)
17. Burma (1930-32)
    • Saya San Rebellion
      • Rudolf von Albertini, European Colonial Rule, 1880-1940: 3,000 killed and wounded, 128 hanged
      • FSV Donnison, Burma: 3,000 "casualties", 78 hanged
      • Maung Htin Aun, A History of Burma (1967): 10,000 rebels killed, 128 hanged
18. French Indochina (1930-31)
    • Nghe Tinh Revolt
      • 10,000 killed (Dictionary of 20th Century World History; also M. Clodfelter, Vietnam in Military Statistics (1995))
19. Dominican Republic (1937)
    • Haitians massacred in D.R:
      • Eckhardt: 5,000 civ.
      • John Gunther, Inside Latin America (1941): 7,000
      • John E. Fagg, Cuba, Haiti & the Dominican Republic (1965): 10,000
      • Robert Heinl, Written in Blood : The Story of the Haitian People 1492-1995 (1996): 15-20,000
      • Chirot: 20,000 - 25,000
20. Mongolia (1939)
    • Nomonhan War (S&S):
      • USSR: 5,000
      • Mongolia: 3,000
      • Japan: 20,000
      • TOTAL: 28,000
    • Eckhardt: 28,000
21. Algeria, Setif uprising (1945)
    • Clodfelter
      • Likeliest: 6,000 est. by moderate historians
      • Radio Cairo claimed 45,000 k
      • French claimed 1,300 k
    • Columbia Ency.: 100 Europeans k.; >6,000 Muslims d. in reprisals. [http://www.bartleby.com/65/se/Setif.html]
22. Dutch East Indies, rebellion (1945-46)
    • 9 Aug. 1995 AP
      • Dutch KIA: 4,750
      • Massacred by Dutch in Rawagedeh, Dec. 1947: 20 (Neth. officially) or 431 (local history)
    • 13 Sept. 1999 Evening Standard (London): 622 British KIA
    • Tariq Ali, The Clash of Fundamentalisms: Crusades, Jihads and Modernity
      • British & Indian: 620 KIA + 320 MIA
      • Japanese ("alongside the British"): >1,000 k.
      • Indonesian: 20,000 d.
    • 23 Aug. 1995 Daily Yomiuri: 100,000 Indonesians and 6,000 Dutch killed in fighting.
    • Hartman ("casualties", [incl. wounded?]):
      • Dutch: 25,000
      • Indonesian: 80,000
    • S&S (incomplete)
      • UK: 1,000
      • Netherlands: 400
    • Eckhardt: 4,000 civ. + 1,000 mil. = 5,000
23. Albania (1945-91)
    • Communist Regime
      • Rummel: 100,000 democides (1944-87)
      • 15 Feb. 1994 Washington Times: 5,000 to 25,000 political executions.
      • WHPSI: 5,235 political executions (1948-52)
      • 8 July 1997 NY Times: 5,000 political executions (citing the president of the Association of Former Political Prisoners)
24. Philippines (1946-54)
    • Hukbalahap Rebellion
      • WHPSI: 9,633 (1948-54)
      • S&S: 9,000 (1950-52)
      • T. Lomperis, From People's War to People's Rule (1996): "official"
        • Huks: 9,695
        • Gov't: 1,578
        • TOTAL: 11,273
      • Eckhardt: 5,000 civ. + 4,000 mil. = 9,000 (1950-52)
25. Taiwan (1947)
    • Gilbert: as many as 28,000 civilians killed.
    • Harff & Gurr: 10,000 - 40,000 Taiwanese nationalists killed.
    • Douglas Mendel, The Politics of Formosan Nationalism (1970): 10,000 - 20,000 k.
26. Madagascar, revolt (1947)
    • John Gunther, Inside Africa: The French admit to 11,505 known dead. Unofficial totals go up to 80,000.
    • Library of Congress: 60-80,000; later estimates 11,000 [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/mgtoc.html]
    • Cambridge Encyclopedia of Africa: 11,000 to 80,000
    • Paul Johnson: 80,000
    • Maureen Covell, Historical Dictionary of Madagascar (1995): 50,000 to 100,000
    • Encyclopedia Americana (2003), "Madagascar": 60,000 to 90,000
    • Dict.Wars: 11,000
    • B&J: 11,000 total, incl. 350 French
    • Hartman: 11,000
    • WHPSI: 10,000 deaths from domestic violence
    • Eckhardt: 3,000 civ. + 2,000 mil. = 5,000
    • S&S: 1,800 French KIA
    • ANALYSIS: It's difficult to uncover a consensus on this. Three sources put the toll in the upper tens of thousands. Four put it at 11,000 or so. Three give both without taking sides. (Eckhardt and S&S are incomplete and don't count) Four outvotes three, so I'd go with 11,000.
27. Hungary (1948-89)
    • Communist Regime
      • Rummel: 27,000 democides, 1948-87
28. Czechoslovakia (1948-89)
    • Communist Regime
      • 28 May 1991 CTK National News Wire, citing the Czech weekly, Reflex:
        • Executed: 260
        • Killed during arrests, in camps and prisons, etc.: 9,000-10,000
        • Disappeared: 1,800
        • TOTAL: 11,560 ± 500
      • 20 May 2000 Czech News Agency:
        • Opponents of communism executed: 238
      • 3 Nov. 1999 Philadelphia Inquirer: 20,000 d in prison communism, plus 250 executed.
      • Rummel (1987): 65,000 democides, 1944-68
29. Malaya (1948-60)
    • The Emergency:
      • B&J: >10,000
      • Encarta: 11,000
      • Noel Barber, The War of the Running Dogs (1971)
        • Security forces: 1,865 KIA
        • Civilians: 2,473 murdered, 810 missing
        • Insurgents: 6,698 KIA, ca. 1,000 died, deserted, liquidated
        • TOTAL: 11,036 dead, maybe 1,810 more
      • Olson & Shadle, Historical Dictionary of the British Empire (1996); (also T. Lomperis, From People's War to People's Rule, 1996):
        • Security forces: 1,865 KIA
        • Civilians: 2,473
        • Insurgents: 6,711
        • TOTAL: 11,049
      • Harff & Gurr: 5,000 to 20,000 Chinese were victims of repressive genocide, 1948-56
      • WHPSI: 12,616 deaths from domestic violence, 1948-62
      • 11 Nov. 2000 Times [London]: 719 British soldiers
      • Eckhardt: 13,000
30. South Africa, Apartheid Regime (1948-93)
    • Ploughshares 2000: 7,000 since 1990
    • Some numbers from the ANC's statement to the Truth and Reconciliation Comm. [http://www.doj.gov.za/trc/submit/anctruth.htm]
      • Deaths in detention: >70 (1985-89)
      • Assassinations of anti-apartheid activists: ca. 100 (1974-89) + 165 (1990-92)
      • Political violence: >12,000 (7/90-12/93)
      • The strategy of destabilisation in neighbouring countries (Angola and Mozambique) lead to the deaths of 1,500,000 through military and economic action
    • SIPRI 1994: 18,997 k. by pol. viol.
    • Berkeley, The Graves Are Not Yet Full (2001): 20,000 blacks k. in internecine political violence 1985-1994
    • Before 1980:
      • WHPSI: 1,707 deaths by political violence in South Africa, 1948-1977.
      • Soweto Uprising (1976-77): 600 killed (16 June 1988 Toronto Star; 18 June 1977 Washington Post) or 575 k (16 June 1980 Washington Post)
      • 14 Jan. 1977 Washington Post: 30 prisoners died in detention, 1963-77, citing Institute of Race Relations.
    • Total: Some guy on Usenet, citing A Crime against Humanity: Analysing Repression of the Apartheid State, by Max Coleman (I haven't been able to confirm it). Deaths by political violence, 1948-94, S.Afr.: 21,000, incl...
      • (1990-94): 14,000
      • Kassinga, Angola, 1978: 600 k
      • (6/1990-7/1993): 8580 Black on Black out of 9325 total
      • K by security forces: 518
    • Deaths caused by South Africa's support of rebels in Angola and Mozambique
      • Kenneth Christie, The South African Truth Commission (Palgrave Macmillan, 2000) p.158: one million died, citing Commonwealth Report of 1989
      • Thomas Ohlson, The new is not yet born: conflict resolution in southern Africa (Brookings Institution Press, 1994) p.297: between 1.2 and 1.9 million died
31. Israel: Israel vs. Palestinians (1948 et seq.) [make link]
    • SIPRI 1997: 13,000 killed (1948-96)
    • B'Tselem: The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in The Occupied Territories [http://www.btselem.org/English/Statistics/Total_Casualties.asp] 9 Dec 1987-May 2003 (cross-ethnic killings only)
      • In Occupied Territories
        • Palestinians: 3544
        • Israelis: 532
      • In Israel
        • Palestinians: 106
        • Israelis: 610
      • TOTAL
        • Palestinians: 3650
        • Israelis: 1142
        • TOTAL: 4792
    • Project Ploughshares: "From December 1987 to 1992, a popular Palestinian uprising in the Israeli-occupied territories, the intifada, claimed more than 1,500, mostly Palestinian, lives.... An estimated 2,600 Palestinians and 800 Israelis died between September 2000 and September 2003." [http://www.ploughshares.ca/content/israel-palestine-1948-first-combat-deaths-0]
    • 1st Intifada:
      • 28 May 1992 [Glasgow] Herald: since Dec. 1987
        • 904 Palestinians k by Israelis
        • 88 Israelis k by Palestinians
        • 473 Arabs k by Palestinians
        • TOTAL: 1,465
      • 9 Dec 1992 Irish Times: since Dec. 1987
        • 1,121 Palestinians k by Israelis
        • 103 Israelis k by Palestinians
        • 535 Arabs k by Palestinians
        • TOTAL: 1,759
    • 2nd Intifada:
      • 1 Oct. 2001 Chicago Tribune: about 650 Palestinians + 170 Israelis since 28 Sept 2000
      • Ploughshares 2000: >1,500
32. Iran (1953-79)
    • Regime of Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlevi
      • 28 July 1980 AP: "Institute of International Studies in London estimated that 10,000 persons died under the shah's rule."
      • Rummel: 16,000 democides
      • June 1963 demonstrations
        • Reza Baraheni The Crowned Cannibals (1977): 6,000 killed
        • Milani, The Making of Iran's Islamic Revolution
          • official count: 20
          • opponents claim thousands
33. Kenya (1952-56)
    • Mau-Mau Rebellion:
      • Hartman: 10,527 Mau-Mau, 2360 pro-British Africans, 95 Europeans and 29 Asians killed. TOTAL: 13,011
      • Encarta: 11,000 rebels, 2,000 pro-British Africans and 100 Europeans killed. TOTAL: 13,100
      • Olson & Shadle, Historical Dictionary of the British Empire (1996): 11,503 rebels, 590 Security forces and 1877 civilians killed. TOTAL: 13,970
      • Dictionary of 20C World History: 11,503 Kikuyu, 1,920 pro-British Africans and 95 Europeans killed. TOTAL: 13,518
      • Cambridge Encyclopedia of Africa: 13,000 Africans, 100 Europeans.
      • WHPSI: 13,200 deaths from domestic violence (1953-55) and 1118 political executions (1953-57).
      • NY Times book review 3 July 2005
        • Official figure is 12,000.
        • David Anderson (Histories of the Hanged) places it at more than 20,000.
        • Imperial Reckoning by Caroline Elkins: 130,000 to 300,000 Kikuyu are unaccounted for.
      • Eckhardt: 3,000 civ. + 12,000 mil. = 15,000 (1953-63)
      • 11 Nov. 2000 Times [London]: 26 British soldiers
      • B&J: 45,000
34. Hungarian Uprising (1956)
    • WHPSI: 40,000 deaths by domestic violence, 1956-57; and 2,587 political executions, 1953-57
    • 1984 World Almanac: 6,000 to 32,000.
    • S&S: 7,500 Soviets and 2,500 Hungarians. (Possibly a typo. Another book by the same author, The Wages of War, gives 25,000 Hungarians.)
    • Eckhardt: 10,000
    • Hartman: 10,000 in Oct.
    • John J. Mearsheimer (Aug. 1990 Atlantic Monthly): 10,000
    • Clodfelter
      • USSR: 1,500
      • Hungarians: 1,945 in Budapest and 557 elsewhere [=2,502]
      • [TOTAL: 4,002]
      • Nehru claimed 25000 Hungarian and 7000 Russian dead.
    • WPA3: 669 Soviets and 3,000 Hungarians
    • B&J: 3,000 civilians
35. Guinea (1958-84)
    • Sekou Toure Regime:
      • 5 Oct. 1982 AP: Acc2 Amnesty International, 78 political prisoners died and 2,800 disappeared following their arrest in the 1970s.
      • 3 April 1984 AP: Still missing
      • 29 Dec. 1998 AP: total deaths in purges estimated at 6,000 to 35,000
      • 25 Feb. 1992 LA Times (AP): 50,000 killed
36. Cuba (1959 et seq.) [make link]
    • Fidel Castro regime (1959- )
      • Skidmore: 550 executions in 1st six months of 1959
      • Gilbert: more than 2,000 executed.
      • WHPSI: 2,113 political executions 1958-67
      • Hugh Thomas, Cuba, or, the pursuit of freedom (1971, 1988): "perhaps" 5,000 executions by 1970.
        • In addition, Thomas cites (unfavorably: "... does not command confidence")
          • Cuban Information Service, 1963:
            • 2875 executed after trial
            • 4245 executed w/o trial
            • 2962 killed fighting Castro's regime.
          • Caldeville (1969)
            • 22,000 killed or died in jail.
            • 2,000 drowned fleeing
      • 27 Dec. 1998 AP (published in Minneapolis Star Tribune and Buffalo News, et al.):
        • cites Hugh Thomas: 5,000 might have beeen executed by 1970
        • "... in recent years, capital punishment has been rare."
      • Cuban American National Foundation (1997): 12,000 political executions (http://www.canfnet.org/english/faqfutur.htm)
      • 11 Dec. 1998 New Statesman: 18,000 killed or disappeared since 1959 (citing Cuban American Nat'l Foundation)
      • Mario Lazo, Dagger in the Heart : American Policy Failures in Cuba (1968):
        • 15,000 put to death by 1967.
        • 35,000 refugees drowned (based on a 75% mortality, which seems high. cf. Vietnamese and Haitian death rates.)
        • Total: 50,000
      • Rummel (1959-87):
        • Executions: 15,000
        • Boat people drowned: 51,000 (based on a 75% mortality. See above)
        • Died in prison: 7,000
        • TOTAL: 73,000
      • 22 Feb. 1999 Houston Chronicle (editorial by Agustin Blazquez): 97,000 deaths caused by Castro. This number seems to have originally come from an unpublished study by Armando Lago [http://www.nocastro.com/archives/gohome.htm], which now apparently estimates a death toll of 116,730-119,730, the bulk of whom (85,000) disappeared at sea. [http://www.cubanueva.com/cubahoy/politica/1211_COSTOHUMANO-REVOLUCION.htm] Like most sources that only appear in editorials and Internet, be careful.
      • ANALYSIS: The dividing line between those who have an ax to grind and those who don't falls in the 5,000-12,000 range.
    • Bay of Pigs (1961): 300 k (B&J; Hartman)
37. Cameroon (1950s, 1960s)
    • Insurrection:
      • Cambridge Encyclopedia of Africa: over 10,000
      • Africana.com (1955-62) [http://www.africana.com/Articles/tt_646.htm]
        • insurgents: 600
        • gov't officials & police: 1,500
        • civilians: 15,000
      • WHPSI: 10,000 (1963-67)
      • Eckhardt: 32,000 (1955-60)
38. Iraq (1960s)
    • Govt. vs. Kurds
      • Eckhardt: 100,000 civ. + 5,000 mil. = 105,000 (1961-70)
      • B&J
        • 1961-66: 10,000
        • 1968-70: 2,000
        • TOTAL: 12,000
39. Guinea-Bissau (1962-74)
    • War of Independence
      • Eckhardt: 5,000 civ. + 10,000 mil. = 15,000
40. Zanzibar (1964)
    • Massacre of Arabs:
      • Cambridge Encyclopedia of Africa: 5,000
      • BBC: 17,000 [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/3850393.stm]
41. Malawi (1964-94)
    • Banda Regime
      • 17 May 1994 Denver Rocky Mountain News: Minister of State Tembo "personally responsible" for 18,000 deaths by torture, assassination and massacre.
      • 3 Dec. 1997 Dallas Morning News: 7,000 disappeared without trace
      • 21 May 1995 L.A. Times: 6,000 "killed, tortured or jailed without trial".
42. Kashmir War (1965)
    • S&S, Hartman:
      • Pakistan: 4,000
      • India 3,000
    • Eckhardt: 13,000 civ. + 5,000 mil. = 18,000
    • WPA3: 2,212 Indians KIA
43. Dominican Republic (1960s)
    • 1965 Coup
      • WHPSI: 4,000
      • Eckhardt: 1,000 civ. + 2,000 mil. = 3,000
      • Marley: 3,000
      • B&J: 3,000, incl. 30 USAns
      • S&S: 2,500 Dominicans, plus 26 USAns
      • Jan Rogozinski, A Brief History of the Caribbean (1994): 2,000
    • Balaguer Regime (1966-78)
      • Carlos María Gutiérrez, The Dominican Republic : Rebellion and Repression (1972): 2,000 political assassinations by army, 1965-71
      • Leslie Bethell, ed., Cambridge History of Latin America: 4,000 (1966-74)
      • Dictionary of 20C World History: 4,000 opponents murdered by 1974
44. Peru (1965-66)
    • Peasant uprising: 8,000 peasants dead (Skidmore)
45. Namibia (1966-90)
    • South Africa vs. SWAPO
      • SIPRI 1990: 12,800 (1967-89)
      • B&J: 13,000 (1966-90)
      • Obermeyer, “Fifty years of Violent War Deaths…”: 16,000 killed
        • margin of error: 6,000 to 33,000
        • in contrast, Obermeyer cites earlier Uppsala/PRIO est.: 61,000
      • 24 Dec. 1989 Arizona Republic: 20,000 (1965-88)
    • Atrocities
      • Cassinga Massacre, May 4, 1978: South African forces kill some 700 refugees in Angola (Inter Press Service, 6 May 1988)
46. Rhodesia (1972-79) [make link]
    • Gov't vs. Patriotic Front
      • Obermeyer, “Fifty years of Violent War Deaths…”: 141,000 killed
        • margin of error: 76,000 to 233,000
        • in contrast, Obermeyer cites earlier Uppsala/PRIO est.: 28,000
      • Dictionary of 20C World History: 30,000
      • B&J: 30,000
      • 7 March 1984 Washington Post: 20-30,000
        • The article reports a mass grave site with up to 4,000 bodies buried by Smith govt., cause unknown.
      • P. Johnson: 20,000
      • Our Times: 20,000
      • S&S: 12,000
      • Eckhardt: 12,000
      • WPA3: 12,000
47. Pakistan (1973-77)
    • Govt. vs. Baluchi/Pathan separatists
      • Eckhardt, SIPRI 1988: 3,000 military + 6,000 civilians = 9,000
      • Clodfelter: 3,300 govt. + 5,300 rebels k. in battle
48. Western Sahara (1975 et seq.)
    • Morocco vs. Polisario Front
      • S&S (1975-80):
        • Morocco: 5,000
        • Mauritania: 2,000
        • TOTAL: 7,000
      • Eckhardt: 3,000 civ. + 7,000 mil. = 10,000 (1975-85)
      • WPA3: 10,000 (1975-91)
      • SIPRI 1990: 10,000-13,000 (1975-89)
      • CDI: 16,000 (1975-96)
49. Indonesia - Aceh (1976- )
    • Secessionist revolt
      • Ploughshares 2000: over 10,000 since 1989
      • 19 May 2003 AP: >12,000
      • 13 May 2003 Jakarta Post: 15,000
      • 25 March 2001 New Straits Times (Malaysia): >70,000 killed or reported missing
50. International Terrorism (1980-99)
    • U.S. State Department: 9,255 [http://www.state.gov/www/global/terrorism/1999report/373317.jpg]
    • Biggest 20thC incidents
      • Air-India Flight 182 (Toronto to India via London) destroyed over Atlantic near Ireland, probably by a Sikh terrorist bomb. (23 June 1985)
        • 24 June 1985 UPI: 329 k.
        • Infoplease: 329 [http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001449.html]
      • Lockerbie, Scotland: N.Y.-bound Pan-Am Boeing 747 exploded in flight from a terrorist bomb (21 Dec. 1988)
        • Infoplease: k'd 259 aboard + 11 on the ground = 270 [http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001449.html]
      • US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, 7 Aug. 1998
      • Korean Air, near Burma, Boeing 747 jetliner exploded from bomb planted by North Korean agents (29 Nov. 1987)
        • Infoplease: 115 [http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001449.html]
51. India, Assam (1979- )
    • Seccessionist civil war
      • Ploughshares 2000: up to 10,000 (1979-2000)
      • 1983 election violence:
        • Eckhardt: 3,000 civ.
        • Gilbert: >5,000
52. Iran (1979- )
    • Islamic Republic
      • 26 June 2000 The Nation, review of Abrahamian, Tortured Confessions
        • In 1st 28 months, Revolutionary Tribunals executed 757
        • In 6 months after June 1981 Mojahedin uporising, the Revolutionary Tribunals executed 2,665 political prisoners. The executions totaled 7,943 by June 1985
        • Mass executions of 1988. "Former prisoners and opposition groups put the death toll between 5,000 and 6,000. Amnesty International estimates the total to be more than 2,500"
      • 8,000 executed, 1979-80 (Timeframe, P.Johnson)
      • 10,000 to 12,000 executed, 1984-88 (11 Dec. 1988, Toronto Star)
      • SIPRI 1988: 6,000 to 20,000 executed dissidents, 1979-87
      • Harff & Gurr: 10- 20,000 Mujahadeen, Kurds, Baha'is (1981-88)
      • 28 Jan. 1983 Christian Science Monitor: 20,000 k. during "past 18 months"
      • Bulloch & Morris, The Gulf War (1989): Autumn 1988, executions following Mujahedin uprising:
        • Mujah. claim 12,000 k, but this may include battle deaths in July.
        • Amnesty Int.: at least 1,000
        • authors: "true figure" closer to 5,000
      • Ploughshares 2000: >10,000 k. in Mujahadeen conflict since 1979
      • 21 June 1986 Washington Post cites the following
        • Amnesty International estimates 6,108 executions or more.
        • People's Mujaheddin of Iran accused regime of 50,000 executions
      • Rummel estimates 56,000 democides of all kinds, 1979-87
      • NOTE: Most of these numbers do not seem to overlap with the death tolls from the conflicts with the Kurds or Iraq.
53. Nigeria, Fundamental Islam vs Govt (1981-84)
    • Eckhardt:
      • 1980-81: 5,000
      • 1984: 1,000
    • Gilbert: >4,000 (1981)
54. Syria, Hama Massacre (1982)
    • Eckhardt: 10,000 Conserv. Muslims massacred, 1982
    • 11 June 2000 Houston Chronicle: 10,000 massacred in Hama, 1980s
    • Bernard Lewis, The Crisis of Islam (2003): 10,000-25,000, citing Amn.Int.
    • SIPRI 1988: 15,000 k. in Syria (1976-87)
    • 26 Jan. 1992 Washington Post: 25,000 killed by Hafez al-Assad regime (1971-1992)
55. China (1983-84)
    • Govt. Crackdown on Crime:
      • Eckhardt: 5,000 civilians executed
      • 26 Sept. 1984 NY Times: 5,000 executions in 1st 3 months
      • 16 Nov. 1984 Christian Science Monitor: 5-10,000 executions by Jan. 1984
56. India, Sikh uprising (1982-91)
    • SIPRI 1997: 16,000 (1983-89)
    • 9 May 1993 Fort Worth Star-Telegram: 20,000
    • Clodfelter (massacre, Golden Temple, Amritsar, 1982)
      • Sikh militants: 492-780 k.
      • Indian soldiers: 84-220 k
57. South Yemen, Civil War (1986)
    • 5 March 1991 AP
      • Officially: ca. 4,250
      • Diplomatic sources: ca. 10,000
    • Dict.Wars: 10,000
    • War Annual 1 (1986): 10,000
    • Eckhardt: 10,000
    • Gilbert: 13,000
    • Clodfelter: 13,000
58. Myanmar (1988)
    • 3,000 killed when the army attacked pro-democracy rallies. (Dan Smith)
    • Compton's, "Myanmar": 10,000
59. Papua New Guinea (1989-98)
    • Bouganville Revolt
      • 16 March 1998 Wall St. J.: 10,000 civilians (dis./mal.), 1,000 rebels, 2,200 gov't sympathisers; TOTAL: 13,200
      • B&J: 3,000 civ. dis./mal. + "several hundred" in fighting
      • 15 July 1996 Daily Telegraph: 10,000 died in 7 years, acc2 UN.
      • Dict.Wars: 20,000
60. Gulf War (1990-91) [make link]
    • Shortly after the war, the US Defense Intelligence Agency made a very rough estimate of 100,000 Iraqi deaths, and this order of magnitude is widely accepted -- even improved upon:
      • B&J: 50,000 to 100,000
      • Compton's: 150,000 Iraqi soldiers killed
      • World Political Almanac 3rd: 150,000 incl. civilians.
      • Our Times: 200,000.
    • Other authoritative sources working with more detailed data have come up with lower numbers:
      • The British govt. put the death toll at 30,000 (War Annual 6, 1994)
      • A May 1992 report by the US House Armed Services Committee estimated that 9,000 Iraqi soldiers were killed by the air campaign. [http://es.rice.edu/projects/Poli378/Gulf/aspin_rpt.html]
      • The PBS news show Frontline estimates 2300 civilians, 10-20,000 military in air war and, 10,000 military in the ground war; for a total of 27,300 ±5000. (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/appendix/death.html)
    • Because the advancing American Army found only 577 dead bodies and captured only 800 wounded/sick prisoners (compared to 37,000 healthy prisoners), John Heidenrich ("The Gulf War: how many Iraqis died?", Foreign Policy, 22 March 1993) plausibly estimates the number of Iraqi military killed at 1,500 (probable) to 9,500 (absolute maximum), with fewer than 1000 civilians.
    • 29 April 1999 AP: 4,500 to 45,000
      • Civilian death toll is put at 2,500 by US and 35,000 by Iraqis
      • The US lost 147 killed in battle and 289 dead otherwise. The other Coalition members lost 92 dead.
      • NOTE: Subtracting the civilian estimates from the estimated total indicates that AP puts the military deaths in roughly the same range as Heidenrich: 2,000 to 10,000
    • Dict.Wars: 85,000 Iraqi and 240 Coalition soldiers.
    • Wm Arkin: 3,200 Iraqi civilians (cited in 4 Dec. 2001 WSJ [http://wsjclassroomedition.com/tj_120401_casu.htm] and 13 Jan. 2002 San Francisco Chronicle)
    • Martin Gilbert:
      • Coalition
        • USA: 145 k. in action and 121 k. in accidents.
        • UK: 24
        • Egypt: 10
        • UAE: 6
      • Iraqis: at least 8,000 in battle, and 5,000 civilians
    • 25 July 1991 The Gazette (Montreal), citing a Greenpeace report by Wm Arkin:
      • Iraqi
        • Military: 100,000-120,000
        • Civilian: 62,400 to 99,400 (87% of dis./mal. after fighting stopped)
        • Post-war revolts in N + S Iraq: 30,000-100,000
      • Kuwaitis: 2,000-5,000
      • Coalition
        • US: 145 KIA + 2 mortally wd. + 121 in accidents = 268
        • Allies: 77
        • TOTAL: 345
    • 8 Jan. 1992 Interpress, citing a later Greenpeace report by Arkin:
      • Iraqis
        • Military: 72,500-118,000
        • Civilian: 2,500-3,000 in bombing + 49,000-56,000 from dis./mal in 1990-91
        • Post-war revolts in N + S Iraq: 102,000-150,000 civilians & rebels + 5,000 Iraqi soldiers
    • 16 Feb. 2003 Pittsbugh Post-Gazette [http://www.post-gazette.com/nation/20030216casualtiesbox0216p9.asp]
      • Iraqi soldiers killed
        • Beth Daponte / William Arkin: 56,000
        • Army War College: 10,000-20,000
        • John Heidenrich / John Mueller: 1,000-6,000
      • Iraqi civilians killed
        • Daponte / Arkin: 3,500
        • Government of Iraq: 2,248
        • Army War College: 1,000-3,000
        • Heidenrich/Mueller: Fewer than 1,000
      • Indirect civilian deaths
        • Daponte: 111,000
    • 19 March 2004 NY Post
      • Iraqi soldiers: 40,000
      • Iraqi civilians: 2,300
    • Project on Defense Alternatives, 20 Oct. 2003 [http://www.comw.org/pda/0310rm8.html]
      • War dead
        • Iraqi civilians: 3,500
        • Iraqi military: 20,000 - 26,000
      • Post-war
        • Anti-regime uprisings: 30,000 civilians + 5,000 military
        • Health-related deaths: 60,000-100,000
    • 11 Nov. 2000 Times [London]: 47 British soldiers
    • Kuwaiti civilians
      • 24 Feb. 1991 St. Petersburg Times: acc2 Pentagon, 2,000-10,000 killed by Iraqis "in recent days"
      • 7 March 1996, Guardian [London]: 600 missing since Iraqi occupation.
    • MEDIAN
      • Direct civilian deaths
        • Iraqi: 2,625
        • Kuwaitis: 4,750
        • [Total: 7,375]
      • Iraqi Soldiers: 25,000
      • TOTAL: 75,000 (The whole appears to be greater than the sum of its parts because many estimates tally the war's dead without differentiating between military and civilian.)
      • Post-war
        • Health-related deaths: ca. 80,000
        • Uprisings: ca. 65,000 k., all sides, civ+mil
    • For the aftermath of the war, see also
      • International Embargo, 1990-
      • Kurdistan
      • Shia Rebellion, 1991-92
      • Bombing, 1998
61. Croatia (1991-92)
    • War of Independence
      • 3,000 (1994 Britannica Annual)
      • 6,000 - 10,000 (SIPRI 1994)
      • 25,000 (Our Times)
62. Azerbaijan (1991-95)
    • Nagorno-Karabakh War
      • 20,000 (as of 1994, Amnesty International [http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/aipub/1994/EUR/551294.EUR.txt])
      • 20,000 (CDI: 1989-95)
      • 20,000 (B&J)
      • 4,000-10,000 (as of 1993, SIPRI 1994)
    • Atrocities:
      • 4 March 1992 Houston Chronicle: Armenians killed >1,000 Azerbaijani civilians in Khodzhaly.
63. Zaire (1992-94)
    • Ethnic conflicts in Masisi (Hutu Banyarwanda vs. Nyanga, Nande, Hunde): 7,000 deaths (1993) plus several hundred more, 1994-95 (Amnesty International [http://www.amnesty.org/news/1996/16200496.htm])
    • Ethnic clashes (Dan Smith)
      • 1992-93, south: 3,000
      • 1993-94, north: >3,000
64. Georgia, the former Soviet one (1992-95)
    • SIPRI 1994: 2,500 (1992-93)
    • B&J: 5,000 (1992-95)
    • CDI: 6,000 (1992-95)
    • 23 May 1999 Denver Rocky Mtn News: >10,000
    • 9 May 1993 Fort Worth Star-Telegram
      • Abkhazia: 700-1,500 k
      • Southern Ossetia: 1,500
65. Nepal (1996-2006) 12,700 [make link]
    • Gov't vs. Maoist Insurgency
      • Douglas, "Inside Nepal's Revolution", November 2005, National Geographic [http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0511/feature3/map.html]:
        • Nepalis killed by Maoists from 1996 to 2005: 4,500
        • Nepalis killed by government in same period: 8,200
      • Earlier estimates:
        • 26 Nov. 2001 BBC: 1,850 k [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/south_asia/newsid_1676000/1676378.stm]
        • Ploughshares 2000: 1,000-1,500
        • 20 Jan. 2002 USA Today: >2,000
66. Congo-Brazzaville, civil war (1997-99) [make link]
    • Obermeyer, “Fifty years of Violent War Deaths…”: 7,000 killed
      • margin of error: 2,000 to 19,000
      • in contrast, Obermeyer cites earlier Uppsala/PRIO est.: 10,000-13,000
    • 23 May 1999 Denver Rocky Mtn News: 10,000 (1997-99)
    • Agence France Presse (2 Dec. 1997): 4,000 to 10,000 (4 months)
    • Amnesty International ([http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/aipub/1999/AFR/12200199.htm])
      • 2,000 killed in fighting between supporters of Kolelas and government, 11/93-12/93
      • 15,000 killed 6/97-10/97 by supporters of former President Lissouba (citing 1998 government report)
      • 2,000 civilians killed Makélékélé and Bacongo districts 12/98-1/99
    • Ploughshares 2000: 7-11,000
67. Kosovo (1998-99) [make link]
    • Ethnic cleansing by Yugoslavs, before the war
      • 29 April 1999 AP: 2,000 (in 1998)
      • Ploughshares 2000: 1-2,000 (1998)
    • Ethnic cleansing during the war
      • 18 July 1999 Baltimore Sun (NY Times News Service): 10,000 Albanians killed during 3-month campaign
      • 5 July 1999 AP: 10,000
      • 4 July 1999 Toronto Star: 10,000
      • 9 Nov. 1999 Washington Times: 9,269
      • Ploughshares 2000: 2,500-10,000
    • NATO Bombing (1999)
      • 9 Feb. 2000 Slate, civilian deaths [http://slate.msn.com/code/Explainer/Explainer.asp?Show=2/9/2000&idMessage=4570]
        • Human Rights Watch: ca. 500; or specifically 488-527 ("confidently")
        • Serb propaganda: 1,200-5,000 ("stubbornly")
      • HRW: 500 civ. [http://www.hrw.org/press/2000/02/nato207.htm]
      • 14 June 1999 Time: 5,000 military + 1,200 civilian = 6,200
      • 4 Dec. 2001 WSJ: 500, citing Wm Arkin [http://wsjclassroomedition.com/tj_120401_casu.htm]
      • 5 July 1999 AP: 1,200 civilians, citing Yugoslav state-run media
      • Ploughshares 2000: 500 civilians
      • 11 July 1999 Washington Post
        • Official Serbian figures: 576 Serb military "casualties" (probably deaths)
        • NATO estimates: 5,000 to 10,000 Serb soldiers dead
        • Author's estimate: 1,600 civilians and 1,000 military "casualties"
68. Indonesia (1999- )
    • Moluccas, or Spice Islands. Christians v. Moslems
      • Ploughshares 2000: 2,000-4,000
      • 28 April 2002 CNN: 5,000-9,000 [http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/southeast/04/27/indonesia.ambon/index.html]

List of Recurring Sources

to Table of Contents

Last updated March 2011

Copyright © 1998-2011 Matthew White