5 Of The Worst Riots In Human History

Riots are some of the worst things that can happen to a community as it sees huge amounts of violence taking place in a short amount of time. Typically, they can be started for a number of reasons, though are most notably associated with incidents where poor and seemingly abandoned groups of youths believe that the police have done something to their group. Once they have been sparked, they can engulf entire cities, causing widespread damage to buildings and property as well as putting lives at risk. Here are some of the worst, if not the worst, riots to ever occur.


5. 2001 Argentina Riots

2001 saw a growing number of violent incidents in Argentina following a period of financial difficulty for the country that had left many unemployed and unable to pay their bills. This civil unrest culminated in December with a series of riots around the country that saw thousands of people taking to the streets. Some 26 people were killed over the course of several days.


4. 2011 English Riots

After police controversially shot and killed Mark Duggan, hundreds of people organized a protest march on August 6. Shortly after this march, scuffles began to break about between youths and the police until larger riots engulfed the city of London and other cities around England for several days. An estimated $300 million worth of property was damaged during looting and arson attacks, while five people died in separate incidents. Police went on to arrest more than 3,000 individuals who were involved.


3. 1968 Chicago Riots

Following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, civil unrest broke out in many parts of the United States. Arguably the worst violence happened in Chicago, where 28 blocks of West Madison Street were engulfed in violence. It took some 15,000 police officers and national guard to restore order though by that point 11 people had been killed and many buildings had been set on fire.


2. 2002 Gujarat Riots

The 2002 Gujarat Riots was a series of events that started when a small group of Muslims attacked a train and killed a large number of Hindu pilgrims, including many women and children. This led to retaliatory attacks against worshipers of Islam throughout the Gujarat region, causing widespread devastation and loss of life, with almost a 1,100 people killed in the violence.


1. 1992 Bombay Riots

Much like with the later Gujarat riots in 2002, the events in Bombay, India were the result of a divide between the Hindu and Muslim communities in the country. Following the destruction of a mosque, a group of Muslims struck back at the Hindus they felt were responsible, while this later led to a larger retaliation. At the end of the violence, 900 had been killed and hundreds of buildings and businesses destroyed.