Genocides

Genocides, Politicides, and Other Mass Murder Since 1945, With Stages in 2004

Those countries at Stage 7 are currently at the mass killing stage. They have active genocides or politicides, and are identified with bold type. They are erupting. The others are at various stages of dormancy (4 through 6,) but could erupt again. Civilian deaths in 2001 are separately identified. The table is organized by region. Within a region, countries are listed in order of their potential for mass killing, by stages. Not all politicides since 1945 appear on this chart because some countries where politicide has occurred have become democracies (e.g. East Germany, Poland, Romania, Mongolia) and are not now at stage 4 or above. ©2004 Gregory H. Stanton, Genocide Watch

AFRICA
NATION		YEARS OF EPISODES SINCE 1945	CUMULATIVE CIVILIAN DEATH TOLL	MAJOR KILLERS	MAIN DIVISIONS	STAGE in 2004
Sudan		1956 – 1972, 1983 – present	2 million Nuer, Dinka, Christians, Nuba, southerners 50,000 in Darfur	Khartoum gov’t NIF government, militias, rebels Janjaweed	Political, religious, racial, ethnic	7 – Politicide, Genocide
Ethiopia		1945 – 1974 1974 – 1985 1994 – 2000 2001 - present	150,000 Oromo, Eritreans, Somali 750,000 Class enemies, Oromo 100,000 Eritrea war Ethnic minorities Anuak	Selassie monarchy Derg communists Army (Ethiopian Defence Forces) Army (EDF)	National, religious, ethnic	7 – Genocidal massacres
Burundi		1959 – 1962 1972 1988 1993 – 1995 1996 -- present	50,000 Hutus 150,000 Hutus 25,000 Hutus 50,000 Tutsis, 100,000 Hutus 100,000 Tutsi, Hutu	Tutsi government Tutsi army Tutsi army Hutu rebels Tutsi army Rebels, Army	Ethnic, political	7 – Genocidal massacres
Democratic Republic of the Congo		1945 -- 1960 1960 – 1965 1977 – 1979, 1984 1994 – 1997 1997 – 2003 1994 – present	1,000’s Africans 1,000’s civil war 1,000’s civil war 80,000 Hutus, Banyamulenge, 2 million (civil war) 40,000 Hema,Lendu	Colonial forces Rebels, army Rebels, army Kabila/ Rwandan army, Ugandan, Rwandan armies, rebels, DRCongo & allied armies, Militias	Racial, colonial, economic Political, ethnic	7 – Politicide, Genocidal massacres
Uganda		1972 – 1979, 1980 – 1986 1994 – present	300,000 Acholi, Lango, Karamoja 250,000 Baganda, Banyarwanda 1,000’s LRA foes	Amin gov’t army, police Obote gov’t army, police Lord’s Resistance Army	Political, ethnic, religious	7 – Massacres
Côte d’Ivoire		1998 – 2003	1000’s Bambara, Senoufo, Bété, Burkinabe	Gov’t police, rebels	Ethnic, national, Religious, political	6 – Preparation
Zimbabwe		1982 – 84, 1998 – present	20,000 Matabele	Gov’t army 5^th Brigade, militias	Ethnic, political	6 – Preparation
Liberia		1990 – 2000 2001 -- 2003	100,000 Krahn, Gio, Mano, etc.	Doe gov’t army, Taylor rebels Gov’t, rebels	Political, ethnic	6 – Preparation
Equatorial Guinea		1975 – 1979 2001 - present	50,000 Bubi, Nguema foes	Macias Nguema regime	Political, ethnic	6 – Preparation
Nigeria		1966 – 1970, 1972 – 2000 (sporadic) 2001 --present	1 million Ibos Tiv, Hausa, Yoruba Ogoni, others	Nigerian army Ethnic mobs Nigerian army, police	Political, ethnic, religious	5 – Polarization
Rwanda		1959 – 1963, 1993 1994 1995 – present	10,000’s Tutsi 800,000 Tutsi 1,000’s Hutus	Hutu gov’t Hutu Power gov't Interahamwe Rwandan gov’t	Ethnic, political	5 – Polarization
Somalia		1988 – present	100,000 Somalis, Isaaq clan	Warlord/clan militias	Political, clan	6 – Preparation
Sierra Leone		1991 – 2003	100,000 (civil war)	Revolutionary United Front, other militias	Political, ethnic	5 – Polarization
Congo-Brazzaville		1959 – 1968 1997 – 2000	5,000 Gov’t foes 1,000’s (civil war)	Gov’t army, police, rebels	Colonial Political, ethnic	5 – Polarization
Angola		1961 -- 1962 1975 – 2003	40,000 Kongo, 500,000 Umbundu, Ovimbundu	Colonial army Gov’t, UNITA armies, allies	Colonial Political, ethnic	5 – Polarization
Central African Republic		1966 – 1979 2001	2,000 Bokassa foes	Gov’t army, police	Political, ethnic	5 -- Polarization
Botswana		1990 – present	100’s Küng Bushmen, Caprivi Namibians	Gov’t police	Economic, political, ethnic	4 – Organization
Algeria		1954 – 1963 1991 -- present	160,000 OAS, Harkis, settlers 50,000 Berbers	French legions, OAS, rebels Islamic Armed Group (GIA)	Colonial Religious, political	6 – Preparation
Eritrea		1960’s - 2000	10,000’s Eritreans (independence war with Ethiopia)	Ethiopian armies, police	National, religious, ethnic	4 – Organization
Senegal – Casamance		1990 – 2001	1,000 Diola (civil war)	Senegalese army, rebels	Political, ethnic	4 – Organization
Kenya		1952 – 1960 1991 – 1993	1,500 Kikuyu, colonials 1,000’s Nilotics	Colonial forces MauMau Kikuyu Ethnic militias	Ethnic, political	4 – Organization
Guinea Bissau		1960’s – present	1,000’s	Army	Political	4 – Organization
Chad		1965 – 1996	10,000’s southern Saras, civil war	Gov’t army, Libyan army, rebels	Ethnic, racial, religious, political	4 – Organization
Morocco-Western Sahara		1976 – present	1,000’s: Sahrawis	Moroccan army, Polisario rebels	Political, ethnic	4 – Organization
Mali		1990 – 1993	1,000 Touaregs	Malian army, Touareg rebels	Ethnic, political	4 – Organization
Mozambique		1975 – 1994	1 million by MPLA, Renamo	Renamo, MPLA	Political, ethnic	4 – Organization
Madagascar		1947 – 1948	50,000 Malagasy nationalists	French colonial forces	National, racial, political, ethnic	4 -- Organization
South Africa		1987 – 1996 1996 – present	1,000’s Zulus, Xhosa, ANC, Boer farmers	Gov’t police, ethnic militias	Racial, political, ethnic	4 – Organization
Egypt		sporadic	100’s: Copts	Muslim funda- mentalists	Religious, political	4 – Organization
	AMERICAS
	NATION	EPISODES	DEATH TOLL	KILLERS	DIVISIONS	STAGE in 2004
	Colombia	1948 -- 1958 1975 – present	150,000 10,000’s	Political parties Marxists, rightist death squads, drug cartels	Political Political, narcotics cartels	7 – Politicide
	Brazil	1945 -- 1964 1964 – present sporadic massacres	300,000 Vargas foes, Indians 1,000’s: Kayapo, Yanomami, etc.	Gov’t police, settler militias Settlers, miners	Political, economic, racial, ethnic	8 -- Denial 4 – Organization
	Guatemala	1950’s –1980’s	200,000 Mayans	Gov’t army, death squads	Racial, ethnic, political	8 -- Denial 4 – Organization
	Cuba	1945 -- 1959 1959 – present	100’s rebels 1000’s “counter – revolutionaries”	Rightist gov’ts Castro gov’t	Political	8 – Denial 4 – Organization
	Peru	1980’s – 1990’s	1000’s peasants 1000’s rebels	Shining Path Gov’t forces	Political	4 -- Organization
	Venezuela	1945 – 1970’s	1,000’s Yanomami	Settlers, miners	Racial, ethnic	5 – Polarization
	Nicaragua	1970 – 1979 1980 – 1989	1,000’s Sandinistas 10,000’s Contras	Gov’t army Sandinista army	Political	4 – Organization
	El Salvador	1980 – 1992	10,000’s leftists	Army, militias	Political	4 – Organization
	Paraguay	1945 – 1962 1962 – 1974	1000’s Indians 1000 Aché Indians	Army, settlers Settlers	Racial, ethnic	4 – Organization
	Mexico Chiapas	1945 – 2001	10,000’s Indians, gov’t foes 10,000’s Mayans	Army, police	Ethnic, political	8 -- Denial 4 – Organization
	Argentina	1976 – 1980	20,000 leftists	Army, police	Racial, ethnic Political	8 – Denial
	Chilé	1973 – 1976	10,000’s leftists	Army, police	Political	8 – Denial
	ASIA
	NATION	EPISODES	DEATH TOLL	KILLERS	DIVISIONS	STAGE in 2004
	North Korea	1949 – present	2 million +	Government	Political, class, regional	7 – Politicide
	Burma (Myanmar)	1945 – 1948 1948 – 1962 1962 -- 1978 1979 -- present	1,000’s rebels 15,000 rebels,govt 100,000 Shan, Karen, NDU	Burma Ind Move U Nu govt,rebels Burmese gov’t: SLORC, SPDC	Ethnic, political, religious	7 – Politicide, genocidal massacres
	India Gujarat Kashmir	1947 (partition) 1949 – present 1992 – present 1947 -- present	100,000’s Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs 1,000’s Muslims, 100’s Hindus 1000’s Muslims, Hindus	Hindu, Muslim, Sikh mobs Hindu mobs, Muslim mobs Rebels, police	National, religious, ethnic, political National, religious	7 – Politicide, genocidal massacres Civil war
	Nepal	1996 – present	5,000 anti-Maoists, 1,000’s rebels	Maoist rebels Nepal army	Political	7 – Political massacres
	Peoples Republic of China	1949 – 1977 1977 -- present	35 million “class enemies”, religious minorities, Uighurs Muslims, Christians Falun Gong	Maoist communist gov’t, PRC army, Red Guards, police	Political,national, class,economic, ethnic, religious	7 – Politicide
	Pakistan East Pakistan: (now Bangladesh) West Pakistan	1947 (partition) 1971 1973 – 1977 1978 -- present	61,000 Hindus 1,500,000 Bengalis & Hindus Sindhis Shiites, Christians	Muslim mobs West Pakistani army Army Sunnis	Political, national, ethnic, religious	6 – Preparation
	Indonesia	1965 1966 – present	500,000 communist 10,000’s: Aceh 1,000’s: Irian Jaya 1,000’s: Moluccas 1,000’s: Sulewesi	Suharto gov’t Suharto gov’t & successors Laskar Jihad Laskar Jihad	Political, ethnic Religious, political religious, ethnic, national	6 – Preparation, genocidal massacres
	Philippines	1972 – present	1,000’s pro-gov’t officials, separatists, communists	Marxists, gov’t Army, Moros, Abu Sayyef	Political, religious	6 -- Preparation (by terrorists)
	Afghanistan	1978 – 1993 1993 – 1996 1996 – 2001 1996 – 2001 2001 – present	700,000 (civil war) 50,000+ 30,000 (civil war) 50,000+ Tajiks, Uzbeks, Hazara 10,000+ 100’s	Soviets Mujahadin Warlords Taliban, Al Queda NorthernAlliance Taliban	Political, national, religious, ethnic	6 – Preparation
	Sri Lanka	1983 – present	1000’s: Tamil and Sinhalese civilians	Anti-Tamil mobs Tamil Tigers	Ethnic, national, political,religious	6 – Preparation
	Uzbekistan Fergana Valley	1991 – 2002	1,000’s	Muslim funda- mentalists	Political, religious	6 – Preparation
	Tibet	1959 – 1990’s	1,600,000 Tibetan Buddhists	PRC communist Chinese gov’t	National, ethnic, political religious	5 – Polarization
	Azerbaijan	1988 – 1994	10,000’s Armenians 1,000’s Aseris	Azeri & Armenian armies	Ethnic, political, religious national	5 – Polarization
	Cambodia	1945 – 1966 1966 – 1975 1968 – 1975 1975 – 1979 1979 – 1993 1993 – present	5,000 king’s foes 15,000 Vietnamese 360,000 pro-gov’t 1.7 – 2.2 million class enemies, Cham Muslims, city people, Vietnamese, Eastern Zone 230,000 (civil war) 1,000’s gov’t foes	Royal gov’t Lon Nol gov’t Khmer Rouge Khmer Rouge Samrin govt,KR Hun Sen gov’t	Political, class, ethnic, religious, national	5 – Polarization
	French Vietnam South Vietnam North Vietnam Peoples Democratic RepublicVietnam	1945 – 1953 1954 – 1975 1954 – 1975 1975 – present	10,000’s leftists 90,000 leftists 1 million class enemies,minorities 10,000’s boat people, reeducated	French colonials South Viet gov’t North Viet gov’t Vietnamese gov’t	Political, class, ethnic, national	4 – Organization
	Laos	1945 – 1960 1960 – 1975 1975 -- present	10,000’s leftists 100,000 anti- communists, Hmong	Royalists,French Pathet Lao Peoples Demo- cratic Republic	Political, ethnic	4 - Organization
	East Timor	1965 – 2000	200,000 Timorese	Indonesian army, militias	Political,national, ethnic, religious	(Refugees still at risk in Indonesia)
	EUROPE
	NATION	EPISODES	DEATH TOLL	KILLERS	DIVISIONS	STAGE in 2004
	Russia –Chechnya	1943 – 1957 1994 – present	50,000 Chechens, 1,000’s Russians	USSR army Russian Army, Chechen rebels	Ethnic, national, religious,political	7 – Politicide, massacres
	Yugoslavia: Kosovo	1998 – 2001	10,000 Albanian Kosovars, 100’s Serbs	Yugoslav Army KosovoLibArmy	Ethnic, religious, national, political	5 – Polarization
	Yugoslavia Croatia Serbia, Bosnia (including 1941-1945 relevant to later conflicts)	1941 – 1945 1941 – 1945 1945 – 1987 1993 – 2001	650,000 Serbs 100,000 Croats, Muslims 1 million Tito foes 1,000’s dissidents	Croatian Fascists (Ustashi) Serb Partisans (Chetniks) Tito gov’t Milosevic gov’t	Political, ethnic, national,religious	8 – Denial 5 – Polarization
	Macedonia	1999 - 2001	100’s Albanians, Macedonians	Albanian rebels, Macedonia govt	Political, ethnic	5 – Polarization
	Bosnia	1992 – 1998	200,000 Muslims, Croats, Serbs	Bosnian Serbs, Croats, Muslims	Ethnic, religious, national, political	5 – Polarization (partition)
	Georgia: Abkhasia	1993 – present	100’s Abkhasians	Georgian army, separatist rebels	National, ethnic, political	5 – Polarization
	Northern Ireland	1964 – 2001	3000 Catholics, Protestants	Irish Republic Army, Protestant extremists	Religious, class, political, national	5 – Polarization
	Croatia	1991 – 1995	50,000 Serbs, Bosnian Muslims	Croat army, militias	Ethnic, national, religious,political	4 - Organization
	USSR (State no longer exists.) USSR national minorities, esp. in Crimea, Dagestan Ingushetia	1945 – 1953 1945 – 1947 1954 – 1991 1945 – 1991	15 million “class enemies” 1 million repatriated Soviet nationals 6 million dissidents 400,000 Karachai, Meshketians,Balkar Crimean Tatars, Ingushi	Soviet police, army, NKVD NKVD, KGB secret police Red Army, Secret police	Political, national, ethnic, religious	Not applicable (State no longer exists.)
	MIDDLE EAST
	NATION	EPISODES	DEATH TOLL	KILLERS	DIVISIONS	STAGE in 2004
	Israel – Palestine	1948 – 1955, 1956, 1967, 1973, 1987 -- 1993 2000 -- present	1,000’s Israelis, 1,000’s Palestinians 1,162 Palestinians 160 Israelis 1,000’s Palestinians, 100’s Israelis	Irgun, Arab terrorists, Israeli army, police, Fatah, Israeli army Hamas, Islamic Jihad	National, religious, ethnic, political	7 – Politicide, massacres
	Iraq	1961 – 2003 2003 – present	190,000 Kurds, Shiites, Kuwaitis Shiites, “collaborators”	Iraqi army, presidential guard, Baathists, Fedayeen	Political, ethnic, national, religious Religious, political	8 – Denial 7 – Genocide Politicide, terrorism
	Turkey	1984 – 2000	10,000’s Kurds	Turkish army	Ethnic, religious, national, political	8 – Denial 6 – Preparation
	Syria	1981 – 1982	21,000 Kurds, Sunni Muslims	Syrian army, police	Political, religious,national	5 – Polarization
	Iran	1953 – 1978 1978 – 1992	26,000 Shah foes 60,000 Kurds, monarchists, Bahai	Secret police, Iranian army, revolution guards	Religious, ethnic, political, national	5 – Polarization
	Cyprus	1963 – 1967	2,000 Turks, Greek Cypriots	Greek Cypriots Turks	Political, religious, ethnic, national	5 – Polarization (partition)
	Lebanon	1974 – 1991	55,000 Christians, Muslims, Druze	Religious militias Hezbollah, Phalangists	Religious, political	5 – Polarization

Source: Genocide Watch

Genocides, Politicides, and Other Mass Murder Since 1945, With Stages in 2004

NATION

YEARS OF EPISODES SINCE 1945

CUMULATIVE CIVILIAN DEATH TOLL

MAJOR

KILLERS

MAIN DIVISIONS

STAGE in 2004

Uganda

Liberia

Interahamwe

Eritrea

NATION

EPISODES

DEATH TOLL

KILLERS

DIVISIONS

STAGE in 2004

KILLERS

Philippines

Afghanistan

NATION

EPISODES

DEATH TOLL

KILLERS

DIVISIONS

STAGE in 2004

NATION

EPISODES

DEATH TOLL

KILLERS

DIVISIONS

STAGE in 2004