paramilitary groups
Unofficial armed forces
Paramilitary groups are armed organizations that operate outside official military structures but use military-style tactics, training, and hierarchy.
They range from government-backed militias and death squads to rebel forces and private security contractors.
The term often carries sinister connotations—paramilitaries have been responsible for atrocities in conflicts from Colombia to Northern Ireland: Paramilitary groups carried out extrajudicial killings.
- insurgentsThose fighting established authority
- rebelsArmed opposition fighters
- militiaNon-professional armed force
- warlordsMilitary leaders controlling regions
- irregular troopsNon-standard military forces
guerrillas · freedom fighters · revolutionary army · guerrilla fighters · proxy forces · separatist movement · resistance movements · self-defense forces · death squads · hit squads · guerrilla movements · partisan fighters · rebel factions · liberation front · mercenary · junta · brigade · vigilante
- Weimar RepublicWeimar Republic, Reichstag, National Assembly, emergency powers, presidential powers
- Fringe Groupsmilitias, extremists, radicals, separatists, dissidents
- conflictclash, fight, war, battle, dispute
- ColombiaBogota, Medellin, Cali, Colombian flag, Colombian coffee
- insurgentsinsurgent, guerrillas, guerrilla, rebel, resistance fighters
- sectarianismsectarianism, sectarian, sect, schism, schismatic
paramilitary groupsregular army
Nation's permanent military force
defense forces · standing army · national guard · conscript army · coast guard
paramilitary groupshumanitarian organizations
Groups providing emergency relief
peace activists · NGOs · charitable organizations · diplomatic missions · aid workers
paramilitary groupslaw enforcement agencies
Bodies that uphold statutes
government institutions · state apparatus · democratic institutions · civil service · rule of law