her accession to the thrones of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. February 8–24 – The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City, Utah. February 12 – The trial of Slobodan Milošević, the former president of Yugoslavia, begins at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. February 14 – The State of Bahrain is declared a constitutional monarchy and becomes the Kingdom of Bahrain. February 19 – NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of Mars using its thermal emission imaging system. February 20 – 2002 El Ayyat railway accident: A train fire in El Ayyat, Egypt kills at least 370 people. February 22 UNITA guerrilla leader Jonas Savimbi is killed in clashes against government troops led by Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos in Moxico Province, Angola. The government of Sri Lanka and the Tamil Tigers agree to a ceasefire, temporarily ending the Sri Lankan Civil War. It would last until the resumption of hostilities in 2008. February 27 – A mob attacks a train near Godhra, India, killing approximately 59 people. The state of Gujarat breaks out into riots, including the Gulbarg Society massacre on February 28 that kills approximately 69 people. March March – 2002–2003 conflict in the Pool Department: The Ninja militia attacks government forces in the Republic of the Congo, triggering a long-term conflict. March 1 – The Envisat environmental satellite is launched, with its purpose being the recording of information on environmental change. March 2 – Switzerland votes in favor of a referendum to join the United Nations, challenging a long-held tradition of neutrality and isolationism. March 2–10 – Afghan and coalition troops carry out Operation Anaconda in the Shah-i-Kot Valley, the largest combat operation against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban to that point. March 11 – A fire at a girls' school in Mecca, Saudi Arabia kills 15 students. The deaths are attributed to Islamic religious police that prevented the girls from leaving because their dress did not comply with Islamic standards of modesty. March 25 – 2002 Hindu Kush earthquakes: A 6.1 magnitude earthquake strikes Nahrin, Afghanistan, killing 800 people and leaving 10,000 homeless. March 27 – A Palestinian suicide bomber kills 30 people and injures 140 others at a hotel in Netanya, Israel. March 29 – In response to increasing terrorist attacks by Palestinians, Israeli initiates Operation Defensive Shield, a