government forces
Official armed personnel
Government forces are the official military, police, or security personnel operating under state authority, typically referenced during internal conflicts or civil wars to distinguish them from rebels, insurgents, or opposition fighters: Government forces clashed with separatist militias near the border.
The term appears most often in news reporting about armed conflicts where legitimacy is contested.
- militaryArmed forces collectively
- troopsMilitary personnel collectively
- ground troopsSoldiers operating on land
- soldiersMilitary personnel who fight
- armyOrganized land-based military
special ops · occupation · crackdown · regime · junta · state of emergency · patrol · checkpoint · offensive · air strikes · no-fly zone · siege · tanks · uniforms · boots · artillery · combat · resistance
- 1837 RebellionsPatriots, rebels, rebellion leaders, insurgents, armed uprising
government forcesrebel forces
Armed anti-government combatants
insurgents · rebels · insurgent forces · guerrillas · guerrilla fighters
government forcesnon-state actors
Entities lacking governmental authority
irregular forces · militia · mercenaries · paramilitary groups · vigilantes
government forcesrebel army
revolutionary army · coup plotters · mutineers · defectors · liberation movement
government, forces, govern, force, governed, governing, governor, governess, governance