Editing 1996 (section)

===April===
*[[April 1]] &ndash; The [[Amalgamation of the Halifax Regional Municipality|Halifax Regional Municipality]] encompassing the [[City of Halifax]], the [[Dartmouth, Nova Scotia|City of Dartmouth]], the [[Bedford, Nova Scotia|Town of Bedford]], and the [[Halifax County, Nova Scotia|Municipality of the County of Halifax]] is formed in [[Nova Scotia]], Canada.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gkaRoypvCU8C&q=halifax+regional+municipality+april+1+1996 | title=Local Government in Canada | isbn=978-0-17-616791-2 | last1=Tindal | first1=C. R. | last2=Nobes Tindal | first2=S. | date=2000 | publisher=Nelson Thomson Learning }}</ref>
* [[April 3]]
** A [[Boeing 737]] [[1996 Croatia USAF CT-43 crash|military jet crashes into a mountain north of Dubrovnik, Croatia]]. All 35 people on board are killed, including [[United States Secretary of Commerce]] [[Ron Brown]].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Kempster |first1=Norman |last2=Risen |first2=James |date=1996-04-04 |title=Ron Brown Feared Dead in Crash |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-04-04-mn-54873-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230606201244/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-04-04-mn-54873-story.html |archive-date=June 6, 2023 |access-date=2024-08-18 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref>
** [[Burundian Civil War]]: massacres of [[Hutu]]s by [[Tutsi]]s in [[Burundi]] take place with more than 450 killed within a few days.
* [[April 6]]
** [[First Liberian Civil War]]: fighting breaks out in [[Monrovia]], [[Liberia]], between various rebel factions struggling for power in the country's interrupted civil war. Several foreign nationals leave the nation.
** [[Turkey|Turkish]] authorities begin [[Operation Hawk]], a military offensive against rebels from the [[Kurdistan Workers' Party]] in south-east Turkey.
* [[April 9]] &ndash; In a common statement, the [[European Union]] officially recognises the [[Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]].
* [[April 11]] &ndash; The [[Israel]]i government launches [[Operation Grapes of Wrath]], consisting of massive attacks on [[Lebanon]], in retaliation for "terrorist attacks", and sparking off a violent series of retaliations.
* [[April 18]] &ndash; [[Qana massacre]]: Over 100 [[Lebanon|Lebanese]] civilians are killed after Israel shells the [[United Nations]] compound in [[Qana]]. In reaction, an [[Islamist]] group in [[Egypt]] opens fire on a hotel, killing eighteen Greek tourists and injuring seventeen others.
* [[April 21]] &ndash; A [[1996 Italian general elections|general election]] in Italy proclaims a new center-left government headed by [[Romano Prodi]], replacing [[Silvio Berlusconi]].
* [[April 24]] &ndash; At the urging of [[Yasser Arafat]], the [[Palestine Liberation Organization]] drops its clause in [[Palestinian National Covenant]] calling for the removal of [[Israel]] (→ [[Legitimacy of the State of Israel]]). The Israeli government responds by dropping a similar clause concerning the existence of [[Palestine]].
* [[April 26]] &ndash; Shanghai Five group, predecessor of the [[Shanghai Cooperation Organisation]], is created with the signing of the Treaty on Deepening Military Trust in Border Regions in [[Shanghai]] by the heads of states of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.<ref>{{cite web| title=The Shanghai Cooperation Organization| url=https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/shanghai-cooperation-organization| access-date=15 October 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181016032848/https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/shanghai-cooperation-organization| archive-date=16 October 2018| url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[April 28]]
** [[Port Arthur massacre (Australia)]]: [[Martin Bryant]] kills 35 people at the [[Port Arthur, Tasmania|Port Arthur]] tourist site in [[Tasmania]].
** [[Bhai Pheru bus bombing]]: A bomb explodes in [[Bhai Pheru]], [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]], [[Pakistan]], killing more than 60 people.<ref>{{cite news |title=WORLD NEWS BRIEFS;Pakistan Premier Blames 'Foreigners' for Bombing |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/30/world/world-news-briefs-pakistan-premier-blames-foreigners-for-bombing.html |access-date=26 January 2022 |agency=New York times |date=30 April 1996}}</ref>