Paramilitary

A paramilitary organization is a group of civilians trained and organized in a military fashion.

Revolutionary and guerilla paramilitary groups

Some paramilitaries are formed to fight the current government of a country or region. This includes rebellions against recognized governments and attacks on occupying forces. While some insurrections are carried out by rebellious units of a country's military, many are staged by paramilitary groups. When a group is acting locally against a military occupation, its members may be referred to as partisans, guerrillas, or as resistance fighters by supporters. The military occupation forces will generally refer to them as terrorists, insurgents, or rebels.

Related Topics:
Partisan - Guerrilla - Resistance - Terrorist - Insurgents - Rebels

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Unlike state security paramilitaries, these groups are typically engaged in asymmetric warfare against an established and stronger force. In fact, they may be fighting both against the government and against other paramilitaries that support or are controlled by the government.

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Examples include FARC and ELN in Colombia, EZLN in Mexico and Hamas, Huzbollah, Islamic Jihad, Fatah and other armed insurgent groups in the Middle East, the Lord's Resistance Army of Uganda, the IRA in Ireland and ETA in Spain.

Related Topics:
FARC - ELN - Colombia - EZLN - Mexico - Hamas - Huzbollah - Islamic Jihad - Fatah - Middle East - Lord's Resistance Army - Uganda - IRA - ETA

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In some instances, paramilitary groups have worked to destabilize and overthrow democratic governments, generally in support of a fascist regime or, at the contrary, of a Communist revolution. As a consequence, many jurisdictions have laws prohibiting private paramilitary groups.

Related Topics:
Democratic - Fascist - Communist

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Examples include the Sturmabteilung (helped install Nazi Germany), the Blackshirts (helped install Fascism in Italy).

Related Topics:
Sturmabteilung - Nazi Germany - Blackshirts - Fascism - Italy

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