Bougainville conflict

Bougainville conflict
District map of Bougainville (North Solomons)
Date 1 December 1988 – 20 April 1998 Location Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Sea Result Military stalemate[2] Bougainville Peace Agreement Establishment of the Autonomous Bougainville Government
Belligerents
Papua New Guinea Buka Liberation Front Bougainville Resistance Force Supported by:  Australia  Indonesia[1]	Bougainville Interim Government (BIG) Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) Supported by:  Solomon Islands  Fiji (alleged)
Commanders and leaders
Julius Chan Jerry Singirok (WIA) Paias Wingti Bill Skate Rabbie Namaliu	Francis Ona Sam Kauona Theodore Miriung † Ishmael Toroama Joseph Kabui
Strength
~800 soldiers 150 police Several thousand resistance fighters 4 UH-1 Iroquois helicopters 4 Pacific-class patrol boats	~2,000
Casualties and losses
300+ PNGDF soldiers killed Several thousand wounded	1,000–2,000 fighters killed
Estimates vary between 15,000–20,000 Bougainvilleans dead[3]

Part of a series on the
History of Bougainville
Prehistory (Kilu Cave) German colony (details) Australian mandate Japanese invasion Allied counter-invasion Territory of Papua and New Guinea Republic of the North Solomons Bougainville conflict Autonomous Bougainville Government Independence referendum
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The Bougainville conflict, also known as the Bougainville Civil War, was a multi-layered armed conflict fought from 1988 to 1998 in the North Solomons Province of Papua New Guinea (PNG) between PNG and the secessionist forces of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA), and between the BRA and other armed groups on Bougainville. The conflict was described by Bougainvillean President John Momis as the largest conflict in Oceania since the end of World War II in 1945, with an estimated 15,000–20,000 Bougainvilleans dead, although lower estimates place the toll at around 1,000–2,000.^[3]

Hostilities concluded under the Bougainville Peace Agreement in 1998. The national (PNG) government agreed to the founding of the Autonomous Bougainville Government and to certain rights and authorities which the autonomous government would have over what became known as Bougainville Province, which includes outlying small islands in addition to Bougainville Island itself.