Conflict Regions in News: UPSC Prelims – 2026

• Thailand-Cambodia border dispute traces back to a 1907 French-drawn map recognised by Cambodia but contested by Thailand.
  • Periodic clashes since 2008, mainly over Khmer temples like Preah Vihear and Ta Moan Thom.

• Recent Escalation: Near Chong Bok.

Main Disputed Sites

1. Preah Vihear Temple: UNESCO site awarded to Cambodia; Thailand disputes surrounding areas.
2. Ta Moan Thom Temple: 11^th-century Khmer temple in Thailand.
3. Chong Bok Plateau: A strategic highland zone

• M23 (March 23 Movement) rebels have expanded control in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), capturing Goma and pushing toward Bukavu.

Democratic Republic of Congo

• Second-largest country in Africa.
• Home to vast natural resources, including cobalt, copper, and coltan.
• Congo river basin: 2nd longest river in Africa.
• Congo rainforest: 2nd largest tropical rainforest.
• Remains mired in poverty, corruption, and ongoing conflict, with regions like North and South Kivu often the centre of insurgencies.

• Syria’s Druze community in Suwayda faces ethnic cleansing by Bedouin militias.

• Suwayda is a city in southern Syria near the Jordan-Israel-Syria tri-junction.
• Lies on Hauran Plateau, shaped by volcanic activity of Jabal al-Druze.
• The city is called “Little Venezuela” due to Latin American return migration.

• Nyangai and Plantain Islands, part of Sierra Leone’s Turtle Islands, are shrinking due to rising sea levels.

• Location: In West Africa. | Capital: Freetown
• Borders: On north and east by Guinea, on south by Liberia, west by Atlantic Ocean.

• Internal conflict weakened the country from the late 1980s onward, culminating in a brutal civil war that took place from 1991 to 2002.

• Tuti Island has been devastated by two years of war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

• Located at the confluence of Blue & White Nile in Khartoum, Sudan.
• Crescent-shaped island was formed by deposition of silt.
• Inhabitants: The Tuti people, trace their roots to the Mahas who settled there in the 15^th century.
• Other Threats to Island: Flooding, droughts, desertification.

• UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) has declared a famine in Gaza Governorate, the first officially declared famine in West Asia.

Gaza Strip

• The Gaza Strip is a narrow coastal territory on the eastern Mediterranean, bordered by Israel (north and east) and Egypt (south-west).
• It is part of the Palestinian territories (with West Bank).
• Hamas controls internal governance; Israel regulates external access points.
• Israel manages most crossings, and Egypt exclusively controls the Rafah terminal.
• No recognised authority exercises complete territorial and administrative control.

• Tensions escalated between China and the Philippines after China claimed it had seized control of Sandy Cay Reef.

• Aka Tiexian Reef, it is a small sandbar located in the Spratly Islands, part of South China Sea.
• Positioned near Thitu Island (Pagasa), a major Philippine-administered Island, Sandy Cay lies within internationally disputed waters, claimed by China, Philippines, & Vietnam.
• Rich in maritime resources e.g fisheries, oil and gas reserves; serves as a critical shipping lane.

• Russia controls about one-fifth of Ukraine, incl. key industrial & strategic hubs.

Areas Under Russian Control

• Crimea: Annexed in 2014; strategic naval and military base in the Black Sea.
• Luhansk: Fully under control; industrial Donbas hub rich in metals and chemicals.
• Kherson: ~73% controlled; crucial link in “land bridge” to Crimea.
• Kharkiv & Sumy: Strategically important occupied pockets.
• Zaporizhzhia: Home to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.
• Donetsk: ~75% controlled; part of Donbas with Ukraine’s heavily fortified “fortress belt” defence.

• Russia captured the city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine.

• Pokrovsk is a major industrial centre and logistics hub located in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
• It serves as a primary supply route for Ukrainian forces along the eastern front.
• The city hosts Ukraine’s only coking coal mine; gateway to northern Donetsk, including the twin cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.

• Ukraine announced a successful covert operation named Operation Spider’s Web.
• Conducted by: Ukrainian Security Service (SBU)
• Objective: Deep strike on Russian airbases to cripple strategic air power.
• Targeted Locations:
  • Belaya Air Base: Irkutsk, Southeastern Siberia.
  • Olenya Air Base: Murmansk, Northwestern Russia.
  • Dyagilevo Air Base: Ryazan, Western Russia.
  • Ivanovo Severny Air Base: Ivanovo, Western Russia.
  • Amur region, Far East Russia (claimed by Russian Defence Ministry)

• Technology Used: 117 short-range First Person View (FPV) drones laden with explosives.

• Reason: Rise in organised crime.

• Located on the western coast of South America, bordered by Ecuador and Colombia to the north, Brazil to the east, Bolivia and Chile to the south, and Pacific Ocean to the west.
• Physical Divisions: Three distinct regions —arid coast in the west, Sierra (central highlands) with the Andes mountains, and humid Selva (jungle) with Amazon rainforest in east.
• Includes the Amazon River, which originates in the Andes and flows into the Atlantic Ocean, and Lake Titicaca, the world’s highest navigable lake.
• Climate: Varies from dry coastal deserts to humid rainforests due to latitude, elevation, and opposing currents of the cold Humboldt and warm El Niño

• France, joined by Australia, Canada, U.K., and Portugal, has formally recognised Palestinian statehood.

• Out of 193 United Nations member states, 147, including major powers like India, China, and Russia, have already recognised the Palestinian state.

• Kerch bridge was hit by Ukraine with underwater explosives.

• Kerch Strait connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. It separates the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea in the west from the Taman Peninsula of Russia’s Krasnodar Krai in the east.
• Only direct link between Russia and Crimea. Important for supply of fuel and other essential goods.

• Cotonou in Benin recently witnessed a failed coup attempt by a group of soldiers.

• Republic of Benin is a West African country with its capital at Porto Novo. Cotonou is its largest city and the administrative centre. French is the official language,
• The region was ruled by the Kingdom of Dahomey (17th–19th centuries) and later became a French colony called French Dahomey.
• Physical Features: Southern coastline along Bight of Benin (part of Gulf of Guinea), central plateaus (Barre Country), and northwest Atakora Mountains, with Mont Sokbaro as the highest point.

• Israel completed the takeover of Morag axis.

• Under Operation Midnight Hammer, the United States launched coordinated strikes on three key nuclear sites in Iran to destroy Iran’s nuclear programme.

Three Key Nuclear Sites Targeted By the U.S.

• U.S. targeted 3 key sites: Natanz, Isfahan, & Fordow, central to Iran’s controversial nuclear program.
• Natanz: Situated about 220 km southeast of Tehran.
• Fordow: Located about 95 km (60 miles) southwest of Tehran, it is built deep inside a mountain, reportedly up to 80-90 metres (260-300 feet) underground.
• Isfahan: It is situated approximately 350 km southeast of Tehran and houses three Chinese research reactors and laboratories linked to Iran’s nuclear program.

• El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur in Sudan, experienced a massacre after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took control from the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).

• Sudan in northeast Africa, is bordered by Egypt (north), Eritrea and Ethiopia (east), South Sudan (south), the CAR and Chad (west), Libya (northwest), and the Red Sea (northeast maritime boundary).
• Africa’s third-largest country, with Khartoum serving as its capital.
• Includes Sahara Desert, Jebel Marra, and the Nile system, with the White Nile joining the Blue Nile at Khartoum.

• World’s top producer of Gum Arabic, vital for the food and pharmaceutical industries.