Events of the year 2002
Posted in History
- Former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic?s trial on charges of crimes against humanity opens at The Hague (Feb. 12).
- Tamil Tigers and Sri Lankan government sign a cease-fire agreement, ending 19 years of civil war (Feb. 22).
- India's worst Hindu-Muslim violence in a decade rocked the state of
Gujarat after a Muslim mob fire-bombed a train, killing Hindu
activists. Hindus retaliated, and more than 1,000 died in the bloodshed
(Feb. 27 et seq.).
- U.S. and Afghan troops launch Operation Anaconda against remaining al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters in Afghanistan (March 2).
- Israeli tanks and warplanes attack West Bank towns of Nablus,
Jenin, Bethlehem, and others in response to string of Palestinian
suicide attacks (March 29 - April 21). In the first three months of 2002,
14 suicide bombers kill dozens of Israeli civilians, and wounded
hundreds. Background: World in Review
- International Criminal Court wins UN ratification; U.S. refuses to ratify (April 11).
- Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez ousted in coup, then reinstated (April 12, 14).
- U.S. and Russia reach landmark arms agreement to cut both
countries' nuclear arsenals by up to two-thirds over the next 10 years
(May 13).
- East Timor becomes a new nation (May 20).
- Terrorist bomb in Bali kills hundreds (Oct. 12).
- Government suspended in Northern Ireland in protest of suspected IRA spy ring (Oct. 14).
- North Korea admits to developing nuclear arms in defiance of treaty (Oct. 16).
- Chechen rebels take 763 hostages in Moscow theater (Oct. 23).
Russian authorities release a gas into theater, killing 116 hostages
and freeing remainder (Oct. 26). Background: Chechnya Timeline
- China's Jiang Zemin officially retires as general secretary; Hu Jintao named as his successor (Nov. 14).
- UN Security Council passes unanimous resolution calling on Iraq to disarm or else face "serious consequences." (Nov. 8).
- UN arms inspectors return to Iraq (Nov. 18).
