One war by proxy
A proxy war is an armed conflict in which two countries use third parties β the proxies β as intermediaries or substitutes, so that they do not fight each other directly.
Although superpowers have often used national governments as proxies, insurgent groups or others are more commonly employed. It is expected that such groups can defeat the opponent, without escalating a war of large proportions.
Proxy wars can also run parallel to large-scale conflicts. During the Iran-Iraq War, for example, both nations armed rival factions in the Lebanon Civil War and incited them against each other.
It is almost impossible to have a pure proxy war, as groups fighting for a superpower often also have interests of their own, often at odds with those they serve. For example, after the War in Afghanistan, groups supported by the United States turned against the United States itself, becoming the nuclei of the Taliban and the Alcaid.