<Li> Operation Tiger Claw </Li> <Li> Operation Tail - Wind </Li> <P> The Nigerian Civil War, commonly known as the Biafran War (6 July 1967--15 January 1970), was a war fought between the government of Nigeria and the secessionist state of Biafra . Biafra represented nationalist aspirations of the Igbo people, whose leadership felt they could no longer coexist with the Northern - dominated federal government . The conflict resulted from political, economic, ethnic, cultural and religious tensions which preceded Britain's formal decolonization of Nigeria from 1960 to 1963 . Immediate causes of the war in 1966 included a military coup, a counter-coup and persecution of Igbo living in Northern Nigeria . Control over the lucrative oil production in the Niger Delta played a vital strategic role . </P> <P> Within a year, the Federal Military Government surrounded Biafra, capturing coastal oil facilities and the city of Port Harcourt . The blockade imposed during the ensuing stalemate led to severe famine . During the two and half years of the war, there were about 100,000 overall military casualties, while between 500,000 and 2 million Biafran civilians died from starvation . </P>

When did nigeria civil war started and ended