This article presents a list of military occupations, both historical and contemporary, that have taken place since the customary laws of belligerent military occupation were first clarified and supplemented by the Hague Convention of 1907.
As currently understood in international law, "military occupation" is the effective military control by a power over a territory outside the power's recognized sovereign territory. The occupying power in question may be an individual state or a supranational organization, such as the United Nations.
Ongoing occupations
Territory Since Occupied state/territory Occupying state Occupier's declared state/territory Status Transnistria 1992 Occupied by an armed group under the influence of a foreign power Abkhazia 2008 Occupied by an armed group under the influence of a foreign power South Ossetia Crimea 2014 Federal subjects of Russia
Occupied and annexed by a foreign power Significant parts of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia OblastsNegligible parts of Kharkiv and Mykolaiv, Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk Oblasts201420222025 Federal subjects of Russia
Kherson Oblast
Zaporizhzhia Oblast
Kharkiv Oblast Mykolaiv Oblast Sumy Oblast Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia Oblasts: DPR & LPR: Occupied by an armed group under the influence of a foreign power (2014–2022) Four oblasts: Occupied and annexed by a foreign power (2022)
Kharkiv Oblast: Occupied by a foreign power; territory mostly recaptured by Ukraine
Mykolaiv Oblast: Occupied and partially annexed by a foreign power; territory mostly recaptured by Ukraine
Sumy Oblast: Occupied by a foreign power; Most of the territory is still under Ukrainian control
Dnipropetrovsk Oblast: Occupied by a foreign power; Most of the territory is still under Ukrainian control Parts of Southern Lebanon 2024 Occupied by a foreign power East Jerusalem 1967 Indigenous Palestinians; Part of the Jerusalem District Occupied and annexed by a foreign power: "An occupied territory may also be illegally annexed [...] Annexation means that the territory is incorporated into another state and is being regarded by that state as a part of its territory. Among contemporary examples, one finds the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem, Western Sahara and Crimea. Under current international law, annexation can only be carried out after a peace treaty, and preferably after a referendum. Annexations which do not correspond to this requirement – like those just mentioned – are illegal." West Bank Judea and Samaria Area Occupied by a foreign power,: "Territory over which a foreign power has taken control is occupied. [...] An occupation is supposed to be a temporary status, but current reality shows that territory may be occupied for decades; the West Bank and Gaza have been occupied for 48 years." with de facto partial annexation in the West Bank Gaza Strip Golan Heights "The international community maintains that the Israeli decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration in the occupied Syrian Golan is null and void and without international legal effect." In 2008, a plenary session of the United Nations General Assembly voted by 161–1 in favour of a motion on the "occupied Syrian Golan" that reaffirmed support for UN Resolution 497. () "[...] the Golan Heights, a 450-square mile portion of southwestern Syria that Israel occupied during the 1967 Arab–Israeli war." Also, "[...] the Syrian Golan Heights territory, which Israel has occupied since 1967". ()Occupied territory: "[...] Israeli-occupied Golan Heights [...]" () "[...] the United States considers the Golan Heights to be occupied territory subject to negotiation and Israeli withdrawal [...]" () "[...] Occupied Golan Heights." () "In the ICRC's view, the Golan is an occupied territory [...]" () Part of the Northern District Occupied and annexed by a foreign power. Recognized by only the United States as part of Israel. Parts of Southern Syria 2024 Occupied by a foreign power Northern CyprusUN Security Council resolutions 353, 357, 358, 359, 360, and 365. 1974 Occupied by an armed group under the influence of a foreign power: "Territory may further be controlled by an armed group. This could be a rebel group which wants to take over control of the government of the state in question or it could be a group that wants to secede from the state and form a new state or have the territory transferred to another state. [...] There is no term in international law for such territory. [...] In some cases, the armed group in power in such a territory may be under the control of or under the influence of a foreign power. As has been held by the European Court of Human Rights, Turkey is legally responsible for human rights violations committed in the non-recognised 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' (TRNC). It is possible that the situation is similar in the self-proclaimed peoples' republics in Donetsk and Lugansk." Parts of Iraqi Kurdistan 1997 Occupied by a foreign power Yukhari Askipara, Sofulu, Barxudarlı and Karki 1992 Part of the Tavush and Ararat Provinces Occupied and de facto annexed by a foreign power Artsvashen Part of the Gadabay RayonPortions of Syunik, Vayots Dzor, and Gegharkunik Provinces20212022 Occupied by a foreign power, Majority of Western Sahara 1975 Occupied and annexed by a foreign power Parts of North Kivu and South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo 2022 Occupied by an armed group under the influence of a foreign power during the Democratic Republic of the Congo–Rwanda conflict (2022–present)
Historical occupations Events before the Hague Convention of 1907 are out of scope.
1907–1914 Occupied territory Years Occupied state Occupying state Event Part of war(s) Subsequently annexed? Korea Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905 Aftermath of Russo-Japanese War Yes Cuba 1906–1909 Second occupation of CubaBanana WarsNo Libya Invasion of LibyaItalo-Turkish WarYes Albania Occupation of Albania Balkan WarsNo Nicaragua Occupation of NicaraguaBanana Wars Veracruz Occupation of VeracruzMexican Revolution
World War I and immediate aftermath Occupied territory Years Occupied state Occupying state Event Part of war(s) Subsequently annexed? Albania 1916–1918 Occupation of AlbaniaWorld War INo Eastern Galicia 1914–1915 Occupation of Eastern Galicia Belgium 1914–1918 Occupation of BelgiumKelmis1914-1915 Neutral MoresnetGerman capture of MoresnetYes Northeastern France 1914–1918 Invasion of Northeastern FranceNo Luxembourg Occupation of Luxembourg Congress Poland Invasion of Russian Poland Parts of the Baltic governorates and Vilna Governorate-General 1914–1919 Invasion of Baltic Russia German South West Africa 1914–1915 South West Africa campaign Yes Governorate of Serbia 1915–1918 Occupation of SerbiaNo Serbia Invasion of Serbia Eastern Serbia Occupation of Eastern Serbia Serbian MacedoniaOccupation of Serbian MacedoniaYes Albania 1915–1917 Occupation of AlbaniaNo Montenegro 1916–1918 Occupation of Montenegro Haiti 1915–1934 Occupation of HaitiBanana Wars Dominican Republic 1916–1924 Occupation of the Dominican Republic Cuba 1917–1922 Sugar Intervention Northeast Italy 1917–1918 Invasion of Northeastern Italy World War I Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War Russian Civil War Constantinople 1918–1923 Occupation of Constantinople Aftermath of World War I Smyrna 1919–1922 Occupation of SmyrnaWestern Armenia (Kars, Ardahan, Surmalu)1920Turkish invasion of ArmeniaYes Rhineland 1918–1930 Occupation of the RhinelandNo Eastern Galicia 1918–1919 Polish–Ukrainian War Yes Volhynia Partial Ukraine 1918–1920 Ukrainian–Soviet War YesDalmatia1918– 1921Allied occupation of eastern AdriaticPartialTransylvania, part of Banat, part of Carpathian Ruthenia, Tiszántúl, Danube–Tisza Interfluve, Budapest, Northwest Transdanubia1918–1920Revolutions and interventions in Hungary (1918–1920)PartialSlovakia, Carpathian Ruthenia, part of Northeast Hungary inc. Sátoraljaújhely (to 1920)part of Banat, SzegedNoPrekmurje, Međimurje, Voivodina, part of Banat, Baranya, Bácska1918–1921PartialTyrol1918–1920 Transcaucasia 1920 Armenia Invasion of Armenia Russian Civil War Yes1920 AzerbaijanInvasion of Azerbaijan 1921 Invasion of Georgia Ruhr 1923–1924 Occupation of the Ruhr Aftermath of World War I No
World War II: build up and immediate aftermath