Q. Consider the following pairs:
| Area of conflict mentioned in news |
Country where it is located |
| 1. Donbas |
Syria |
| 2. Kachin |
Ethiopia |
| 3. Tigray |
North Yemen |
How many of the above pairs are correctly matched? (UPSC Prelims 2023)
Answer:
None
Notes: The correct answer is
[D] None. All three pairs are incorrectly matched based on current geopolitical conflicts and regional geography.
- Donbas (Pair 1 – Incorrect): Located in Ukraine, not Syria. Donbas is a region in eastern Ukraine consisting of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. It has been a major theater of conflict since 2014, escalating significantly with the Russian invasion in 2022.
- Kachin (Pair 2 – Incorrect): Located in Myanmar, not Ethiopia. Kachin State is the northernmost state of Myanmar. It has seen long-standing conflict between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Myanmar military (Tatmadaw).
- Tigray (Pair 3 – Incorrect): Located in Ethiopia, not North Yemen. The Tigray Region is the northernmost regional state of Ethiopia. It was the site of a major civil war between the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Ethiopian federal government (supported by Eritrea) between 2020 and 2022.
The regions mentioned are frequently in the news due to humanitarian crises and territorial disputes. Donbas remains a central focus of the Russia-Ukraine war, Kachin is a key area in the Myanmar civil unrest, and Tigray is undergoing a fragile recovery following a devastating conflict.