UPSC Prelims 2023 Q93: Current Affairs – Geopolitical Conflicts
- (a) Only one
- (b) Only two
- (c) All three
- (d) None
Answer: (d) None
Explanation
Geopolitical Conflict Regions — Correct Matching
| Pair | Region | Reason Given | Verdict | Correct Fact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Kivu and Ituri | War between Armenia and Azerbaijan | WRONG | North Kivu and Ituri are provinces in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) — site of a prolonged armed conflict involving M23 rebels and other militias. Armenia-Azerbaijan war was over Nagorno-Karabakh. |
| 2 | Nagorno-Karabakh | Insurgency in Mozambique | WRONG | Nagorno-Karabakh is the disputed region between Armenia and Azerbaijan (not Mozambique). Mozambique's insurgency is in Cabo Delgado province (northern Mozambique). |
| 3 | Kherson and Zaporizhzhia | Dispute between Israel and Lebanon | WRONG | Kherson and Zaporizhzhia are regions in Ukraine that were annexed by Russia in 2022 — the Russia-Ukraine war. Israel-Lebanon conflict is a separate situation. |
All three pairs are incorrectly matched → None.
Answer: (d) None.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Incorrect. 'Only one' — no pair is correctly matched; all three have completely wrong conflict descriptions.
- (b) Incorrect. 'Only two' — Nagorno-Karabakh is definitively the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, not a Mozambique insurgency.
- (c) Incorrect. 'All three' — all three pairs have swapped or wrong conflict descriptions.
- (d) CORRECT. All three pairs are wrongly matched — North Kivu/Ituri = DRC conflict; Nagorno-Karabakh = Armenia-Azerbaijan; Kherson/Zaporizhzhia = Russia-Ukraine war.
Key point
North Kivu/Ituri = DRC (not Armenia-Azerbaijan). Nagorno-Karabakh = Armenia-Azerbaijan (not Mozambique). Kherson/Zaporizhzhia = Russia-Ukraine (not Israel-Lebanon). All three descriptions are wrong. Classic UPSC scramble-matching trap.
Remember
All three conflict region-reason pairs are incorrectly matched: North Kivu and Ituri are in the DRC conflict (not Armenia-Azerbaijan), Nagorno-Karabakh is the Armenia-Azerbaijan dispute (not Mozambique), and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia are in the Russia-Ukraine war (not Israel-Lebanon).
Common mistakes
- Partially accepting Nagorno-Karabakh = Armenia-Azerbaijan but selecting 'only two' — the question has ALL three wrong.
- Not knowing North Kivu and Ituri are in DRC — these are two eastern DRC provinces with long-running armed conflict involving M23 rebels and FDLR.
- Confusing Kherson/Zaporizhzhia with Middle East — these are Ukrainian oblasts on the Black Sea coast, not Israel-Lebanon territory.
Exam tip
Current conflict geography: North Kivu = DRC (M23 rebels). Nagorno-Karabakh = Armenia-Azerbaijan. Kherson/Zaporizhzhia = Russia-Ukraine. Cabo Delgado = Mozambique. Tiger region = Ethiopia. The question scrambles all three correctly — answer is None.
Sources
- UNHCR — Global Conflict and Displacement Map
- United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs — Democratic Republic of the Congo: Humanitarian Response Plan (North Kivu and Ituri)