List of active rebel groups
This is a list of active rebel groups around the world whose domains may be subnational, transnational or international. A "rebel group" is defined here as a political group that uses armed conflict in opposition to established government or governments for reasons such as to seek political change or to establish or maintain independence.
Groups that control territory
The following rebel groups control a certain amount of land or territory. Such control may be contested and might be temporary or fluctuating especially within situations of conflict.
It does not include the governments of stable breakaway states or other states with limited recognition.
- This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Rebel group | Country | Conflict | Control since |
Territory controlled | Notes | Headquarters |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Al-Qaeda | Somalia Syria Yemen |
Somali Civil War Syrian Civil War Yemeni Civil War |
2006 | Parts of southern Somalia[1] Parts of Idlib province[2] and Aleppo province The city of Al Mukalla, parts of Aden, and other areas.[3][4] |
In Syria: Salqin[5] In Yemen: Al Mukalla | |
Donetsk People's Republic | Ukraine | War in Donbass | 2014 | Parts of the Donetsk Oblast in the country's east.[6] | Declared independence, 7 April 2014 | Donetsk |
FARC | Colombia | Colombian conflict | 1964 | Territory scattered all over Colombia.[7] | ||
Houthis | Saudi Arabia Yemen |
Yemeni Civil War | 2004 | Areas near Najran.[8] Most of former North Yemen and parts of southern Yemen, including the capital Sana'a. |
Houthis controls the government of Yemen,[9] but is not recognized by the international community. | Sa'dah |
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant | Iraq Nigeria Libya Syria Yemen Lebanon |
Iraqi insurgency Boko Haram insurgency Syrian Civil War Second Libyan Civil War |
2013 | Parts of northwestern Iraq[10] Towns in northeast Nigeria[11] Parts of Libya[12] North and Eastern Syria[10] |
Designated a terrorist organization by the United Nations[13] | Ar-Raqqah |
Kachin Independence Army | Myanmar | Kachin conflict | 2011 | Northern Myanmar; parts of Kachin State.[14] | Military wing of Kachin Independence Organisation | Laiza |
Lugansk People's Republic | Ukraine | War in Donbass | 2014 | Parts of the Luhansk Oblast in country's east.[6] | Declared independence, 12 May 2014 | Luhansk |
Mai-Mai | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Kivu conflict | 2015 | Parts of north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo[15] | ||
National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad | Mali | Northern Mali conflict | 2012 | Parts of the northern Mali[16] | Kidal[17] | |
New General National Congress | Libya | Second Libyan Civil War | 2014 | Tripoli and surrounding areas[18] | Tripoli | |
Rojava | Syria | Syrian Civil War | 2011 | Northern Syria | Qamishli | |
SPLM-IO | South Sudan | South Sudanese Civil War | 2013 | Territories west of Bentiu, Unity.[19] | Pagak[20] | |
Sudan Revolutionary Front | Sudan | Sudan–SRF conflict | 2011 | Parts of South Kordofan and Blue Nile state.[21] | ||
Syrian opposition | Syria | Syrian Civil War | 2011 | See Cities and towns during the Syrian Civil War. | Various groups not necessarily allied, but difficult to say which group controls which areas. | Idlib[22] |
Taliban | Afghanistan Pakistan |
War in Afghanistan War in North-West Pakistan |
1996 | Kunduz Province,[23] 80% of the territory in Faryab Province[24] and Oruzgan Province.[25] 10% of territory in North Waziristan province[26] |
Taliban controlled territory is also shared with Uzbek Islamists. | Quetta[27] |
United Wa State Army | Myanmar | Internal conflict in Burma | 1989 | Northeastern Myanmar; Wa Self-Administered Division.[28] | Military wing of the United Wa State Party | Pangkham[29] |
Zapatistas | Mexico | Chiapas conflict | 1994 | The Councils of Good Government; parts of Chiapas.[30] | Established various de facto autonomous anarchist regions. |
- This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Other groups
Other rebel groups are listed by the states within which they operate. Because the above list of rebel groups controlling territory may be incomplete, this list may still contain some groups which do control territory.
International
Afghanistan
Algeria
- Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (also operates Morocco, Mauritania, Niger and Mali (sometimes "Al Qaeda in the Sahel")[34] (Islamist)
- ISIL
Angola
- Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (various factions) (separatist nationalist)
Burma
Main source Myanmar Peace Monitor.
- United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC)[35]
- Kachin Independence Organization (KIO/KIA)[36] (Ethnic/Self determination)
- Arakan Army (AA)
- New Mon State Party (NMSP)
- Shan State Army-North (SSA-N) (SSPP /SSA)
- Karen National Union (KNU)[37] (ethnic/Democratic)
- Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP)
- Chin National Front (CNF)
- Lahu Democratic Union (LDU)
- Arakan National Council (ANC), Arakan Liberation Army (ALA)
- Pa-Oh National Liberation Organization (PNLO)
- Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) also known as Palaung State Liberation Front (PSLF)
- Wa National Organization (WNO)
- Kachin Independence Organization (KIO/KIA)[36] (Ethnic/Self determination)
- Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (Democratic Karen Benevolent Army)[38] (Buddhist/nationalist)
- Shan State Army-South[39] (SSA-South)
- Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP)
- All Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF)
Central African Republic
- Convention of Patriots for Justice and Peace
- Patriotic Convention for Saving the Country
- Democratic Front of the Central African People
- Popular Front for Recovery
- Union of Democratic Forces for Unity
China
East Turkestan Islamic Movement
Colombia
- National Liberation Army[40] (ELN) (Marxist)
- Popular Liberation Army (EPL) (Hoxhaist)
- Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia[41] (FARC) (Marxist)
- Black Eagles (rightwing paramilitary)
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Egypt
Ethiopia
France
- Comité Régional d'Action Viticole (Winemaker)
- National Liberation Front of Corsica (Corsican nationalism)
Greece
India
- Communist Party of India (Maoist)[43] (Communist)
- Harkat-ul-Mujahideen[44] (Islamist)
- Hizbul Mujahideen[45] (Islamist)
- International Sikh Youth Federation [46] (Sikh)
- Jaish-e-Mohammed[47] (Islamist)
- Indian Mujahideen
- Khalistan Commando Force[48] (Sikh)
- Khalistan Zindabad Force[49] (Sikh)
- Lashkar-e-Taiba[50] (also in Pakistan) (Islamist)
- Maoist Communist Party of Manipur
- National Socialist Council of Nagaland - Isaac-Muivah
- Students Islamic Movement of India[51] (Islamist)
- United Jihad Council (Islamist)
- United Liberation Front of Assam[52] (separatist)
Indonesia
- Jemaah Islamiyah[53] (also known to operate in other parts of South East Asia such as Singapore and the Philippines) (Islamist)
- South Moluccas
- Free Papua Movement
Iran
- Jundullah (Baloch nationalism/Islamist Sunni)
- People's Mujahedin of Iran (Islamic Marxism)
- Komala (Kurdish Nationalism)
- PJAK (affiliates of Turkey's PKK) (Libertarian Socialism/Kurdish nationalism)
Iraq
Group | Strength |
---|---|
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant | 80,000-100,000[54] |
Supreme Command for Jihad and Liberation | 100,000 |
Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order | 5,000 |
Islamic Army of Iraq | 10,000 |
Free Iraqi Army | 2,500-3,000 |
General Military Council for Iraqi Revolutionaries | |
Ireland
- Continuity Irish Republican Army: 1994–present (separatist/Irish nationalist)
- Real IRA: 1997–present (separatist/Irish nationalist)
- Óglaigh na hÉireann (Real IRA splinter group): 2009–present (separatist/Irish nationalist)
Italy
Lebanon
Libya
Mali
Group | Strength |
---|---|
National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad | 10,000[55] |
Ansar Dine | 2,000 |
Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa | |
al-Qaeda | 800 |
ISIL | |
Ansar al-Sharia (Mali) |
Mexico
- Popular Revolutionary Army[56] (Maoism)
- Zapatista Army of National Liberation[57] (anarcho-communist)
Mozambique
Nigeria
Group | Strength |
---|---|
Islamic State of Iraq and Levant | 15,000 |
Ansaru | |
Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta | 15,000 |
Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force | |
Niger Delta Liberation Front | 2,500 |
Niger Delta Vigilante | 4,000 |
Pakistan
- Baloch Republican Army[58] (Baloch nationalism)
- Balochistan Liberation Army (Baloch nationalism)
- Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan[59] (Deobandi/Wahabi Islam)
- Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi[60] (Deobandi Islam)
- Jamaat-ul-Ahrar
- Fedayeen al-Islam[61] (Deobandi Islam)
- Jundallah (Pakistan)
- Lashkar-e-Islam[62] (Deobandi Islam)
- Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (Deobandi/Wahabi) Sectarian)
- Sipah-e-Sahaba(Deobandi/Wahabi Sectarian)
- Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan[63] (also operated in Kyrgyzstan) (Deobandi/Wahabi Islam)
- Lashkar-e-Omar[64] (Deobandi/Wahabi Islam)
Palestine
- Hamas
- Palestinian Islamic Jihad
- Al-Quds Squads
- Popular Resistance Committees
- Abu Samhadana clan
- Army of Islam (Gaza Strip)
- Fatah Revolutionary Council
- ISIL
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
- Bagong Alyansang Makabayan
- Revolutionary Workers' Party
- Revolutionary Workers Party – Mindanao
- Moro National Liberation Front
- Moro Islamic Liberation Front[66]
- Sultanate of Sulu
- ISIL
Russia
Senegal
South Sudan
- Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement-in-Opposition
- South Sudan Liberation Movement
- Nuer White Army
- South Sudan Democratic Movement
- Lord's Resistance Army
| 200[70]
Sudan
Syria
Main coalitions
Thailand
- Patani United Liberation Organisation
- National Revolution Front
- National Front for the Liberation of Pattani
- Jemaah Islamiyah
Turkey
- Communist Party of Kurdistan
- Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist
- Great Eastern Islamic Raiders' Front
- Group of Communities in Kurdistan
- Hizb ut-Tahrir
- Islamic Party of Kurdistan
- Kurdish Hezbollah
- Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [73]
- Kurdistan Democratic Party/North
- Kurdistan Freedom Falcons
- Kurdistan Islamic Movement
- Kurdistan Workers' Party
- Marxist–Leninist Communist Party
- Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan
- Revolutionary Party of Kurdistan
- Revolutionary People's Liberation Party–Front
Uganda
- Lord's Resistance Army (operates mainly in northern Uganda, but also in parts of Sudan and D.R. of the Congo).[74]
- Allied Democratic Forces (Also active in Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Ukraine
Group | Strength |
---|---|
Novorossiya | |
Novorossiya Armed Forces | 10,000–20,000[75][76][77] |
United Kingdom
- Continuity Irish Republican Army: 1994–present (separatist/Irish nationalist)
- Real Irish Republican Army: 1997–present (separatist/Irish nationalist)
- Óglaigh na hÉireann (Real IRA splinter group): 2009–present (separatist/Irish nationalist)
- Orange Volunteers: 1998–present (Ulster loyalist/sectarian)
- Real Ulster Freedom Fighters: 2007–present (Ulster loyalist/sectarian)
- Red Hand Defenders: 1998–present (Ulster loyalist/sectarian)
Uzbekistan
Yemen
See also
- List of guerrilla movements
- List of designated terrorist organizations
- List of ongoing military conflicts
- Lists of active separatist movements
- List of active communist armed groups
- Violent non-state actor
- Compare to Sovereign state
References
- ↑ Evan Centanni (May 31, 2013). "War in Somalia: Map of Al Shabaab Control (June 2013)". Political Geography Now. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
- ↑
- ↑ "Aden intellgence service building targeted". AFP. Gulf News. August 22, 2015. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
- ↑ "http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/yemen-officials-al-qaida-seizes-key-areas-aden-33247412". Associated Press. ABC News. August 22, 2015. Retrieved August 22, 2015. External link in
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(help) - ↑ Syria’s Qaeda leader killed in explosion
- 1 2 Geoffrey Smith (May 23, 2014). "Putin coy over accepting Ukraine vote result". Fortune. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
The separatists who have taken de facto control of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions have already proclaimed their independence and said they won’t allow the vote to take place.
- ↑ James Reynolds (July 31, 1999). "FARC: Power versus principle". BBC. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
From its beginnings as a small rural movement in 1964, the FARC has now come to exercise de facto control over many parts of the country.
- ↑ Rori Donaghy; Mary Atkinson (August 19, 2015). "Yemen's Houthis claim control of Saudi territory: Report". Middle East Eye. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
A Yemeni television channel broadcast footage on Tuesday reportedly showing Houthi fighters inside Saudi Arabia who claimed to be within striking distance of a city populated by 1.6 million people.
- ↑ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/06/houthis-yemen-takeover_n_6630070.html
- 1 2 Ishaan Tharoor (July 16, 2014). "This Canadian jihadist died in Syria, but his video may recruit more foreign fighters". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
The Islamic State has de facto control of a whole swathe of territory stretching from eastern Syria to the environs of Baghdad and last month declared a caliphate...
- ↑ Aminu Abubakar (August 24, 2014). "Nigerian town seized by Boko Haram 'part of Islamic caliphate': leader". Yahoo!. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
Boko Haram's leader said a northeast town seized by the insurgents earlier this month has been placed under an Islamic caliphate...
- ↑ Paul Cruickshank; Nic Robertson; Tim Lister; Jomana Karadsheh (November 18, 2014). "ISIS comes to Libya". CNN. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
- ↑ http://www.un.org/press/en/2013/sc11019.doc.htm
- ↑ "Burma attack breaks Kachin truce near China border". BBC. January 20, 2013. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
The rebels are seeking greater autonomy within Burma for ethnic Kachins who have had de facto control over a part of northern Burma for more than 50 years.
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑ Frederic Wehrey; Wolfram Lacher (October 6, 2014). "Libya's Legitimacy Crisis". Foreign Affairs. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
The other, based in the capital, Tripoli, has taken de facto control over ministries, relying on a handful of former members of the HOR’s predecessor, the General National Congress (GNC), to provide a veneer of legitimacy.
- ↑ "South Sudan rebels accuse monitors of spying". Sudan Tribune. August 25, 2014. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
- ↑ South Sudan army halts offensive to capture rebel headquarters
- ↑ "Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF)" (PDF). Human Security Baseline Assessment (HSBA) for Sudan and South Sudan. June 4, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
Corresponding to the SPLM-N’s dominant role, the SRF’s locus of control resides in its bastion in Kaoda, and the Nuba Mountains, South Kordofan. Military activity is most prevalent in South Kordofan but extends to Blue Nile and into South Sudan’s border states.
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑ Zarb-e-Azb: 90% area recovered, 1198 terrorists killed
- ↑ ISIS active in south Afghanistan, officials confirm for first time
- ↑ Luke Gerdes (February 8, 2009). "Constructing Terror: How Issues of Construct Validity Undermine the Utility of Terror Databases and Statistical Analyses of Terrorism". All Academic Research. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
The best such example comes from the United Wa State Army (UWSA), an armed ethnic organization that has established de facto control over a portion of Northeastern Burma.
- ↑
- ↑ Duncan Tucker (January 1, 2014). "Are Mexico's Zapatista rebels still relevant?". Al Jazeera. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
Today the rebellion remains a work in progress. Having established complete political and economic autonomy, the Zapatistas govern and police their own communities across five regions of Chiapas.
- ↑ Wright 2006, pp. 107–108, 185, 270–271.
- ↑ Afghanistan: Skeptics Urge Caution Over Purported Hekmatyar Cease-Fire July 19, 2007
- ↑ "Le Monde.fr : Les zones d'influence talibanes en Afghanistan". Retrieved 23 October 2014.
- ↑ Watson, Rob. "Algeria blasts fuel violence fears", BBC News, 04-11-2007. Retrieved 04-22-2007.Jean-Pierre Filiu, "Local and global jihad: Al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghrib", The Middle East Journal,Vol.63, spring 2009.
- ↑
- ↑ Kachin Independence Army.
- ↑ "from January 1949 to day.". Retrieved 23 October 2014.
- ↑ restart Nov. 8, 2010.
- ↑ from February 24, 2011 .
- ↑ Council Decision of 21 December 2005. Official Journal of the European Union. Accessed 2008-07-06
- ↑ The Government of Colombia states: "All the violent groups in Colombia are terrorists": Presidencia de la Republica de Colombia
- ↑ Kingsley, Patrick. "Egypt faces new threat in al-Qaeda linked group Ansar Beyt al-Maqdis". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
- ↑ Troops die in India Maoist attack, BBC News Online, April 13, 2009
- ↑ Indictment of John Walker Lindh American Rhetoric February, 2002
- ↑
- ↑ "International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) - Punjab Terrorist Outfit Profile". Retrieved 23 October 2014.
- ↑ "Jaish-e-Mohammad: A profile". BBC News. 2002-02-06. Retrieved 2010-05-08.
- ↑ U.S. Court Convicts Khalid Awan for Supporting Khalistan Commando Force
- ↑ http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2005/l_340/l_34020051223en00640066.pdf
- ↑ Kurth Cronin, Audrey; Huda Aden; Adam Frost; Benjamin Jones (February 6, 2004). "Foreign Terrorist Organizations" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
- ↑ "Students Islamist Movement of India (SIMI)". Retrieved 23 October 2014.
- ↑ "United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA)". Retrieved 23 October 2014.
- ↑ Elena Pavlova. "From Counter-Society to Counter-State: Jemaah Islamiyah According to Pupji, p. 11." (PDF). The Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies.
- 1 2 "Islamic State 'has 50,000 fighters in Syria'". al-Jazeera. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
- ↑ "mages and exclusive testimony of northern Mali: a colonel MNLA reveals its military arsenal". France 24. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
- ↑ Tobar, Hector (2007-09-20). "A small guerrilla band is waging war in Mexico". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-05-08.
- ↑ O'Neil, Patrick H.; Fields, Karl; Share, Don (2006), Cases in Comparative Politics (2nd ed.), New York: Norton, ISBN 0-393-92943-4, pages 376-378
- ↑ Aoun Sahi and Mark Magnier (October 21, 2013). "Passenger train bombed in Pakistan, at least seven dead". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-10-22.
- ↑ Bajoria, Jayshree (2008-02-06). "Pakistan’s New Generation of Terrorists". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 2009-03-30.
- ↑ Rehmat, Kamran (2009-01-27). "Swat: Pakistan's lost paradise". Islamabad: Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2009-02-03.
- ↑ "Pakistan's extremists: The slide downhill". The Economist. 2009-04-08. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
- ↑ Jayshree Bajoria Pakistan’s New Generation of Terrorists Council on Foreign Relations, February 6, 2008
- ↑ Alisher Sidikov (July 2, 2003). "Pakistan Blames IMU Militants For Afghan Border Unrest". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
- ↑ South Asia Terrorism Portal.
- ↑ Powell, Colin (August 9, 2002). "Designation of a Foreign Terrorist Organization". U.S. State Department. Archived from the original on 2007-03-14. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
- ↑ "BBC News Online Article:The Philippines' MILF rebels, Last accessed 23 October 2006". Retrieved 23 October 2014.
- ↑ "Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG)". MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base. Retrieved September 20, 2006.
- ↑ Philippines arrests key militants - BBC.com
- ↑ Ticking Time Bombs - msnbc.com
- ↑ "Uganda to head new military force to hunt for Kony". Reuters. hindustantimes.com. 18 March 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- ↑ "Factbox: Syria's rebel groups". Reuters. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
- ↑ Paraszczuk, Joanna. "Guest post: Muhajireen Battalion - Jamaat Ahadun Ahad". Chechens in Syria. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
- ↑ "The Children Brainwashed To Become Jihadis". 15 Oct 2015.
- ↑ James C. McKinley Jr. (April 1, 1996). "Uganda's Christian Rebels Revive War in North". New York Times. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
- ↑ "Ukraine army still far from victory over rebels in east". bbc.com. 8 July 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- ↑ "Ukraine's next battle is Donetsk, but no bombs, please". usatoday.com. 12 July 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- ↑ "The army of the Lugansk and Donetsk People's Republics has 20,000 fighters - Gubarev". ITAR-TASS. Retrieved 10 July 2014.