The Nigerian Civil War , also known as the Biafran War and the Nigerian-Biafran War ( 6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970 ) , was a war Hostile_encounter fought Hostile_encounter between the government of Nigeria and the state of Biafra .

Biafra represented Presence nationalist aspirations of the Biafran people , whose leadership felt Perception_active they could no longer coexist Cause_to_amalgamate with the Northern-dominated federal government .

Within a year , the Federal Government troops surrounded Surrounding Biafra , capturing Conquering coastal oil facilities and the city of Port Harcourt .

The United Kingdom and the Soviet Union were the main supporters Supporting of the Nigerian government , while France , Israel and some other countries supported Supporting Biafra .