List of militias in the Lebanese Civil War

The list of militias in the Lebanese civil war does not include the "legal" Lebanese Army; note that the Army split into two major parts:

• The Maronite-led "legal" Lebanese Army favoured the Lebanese Front government
• The Muslim "Lebanese Arab Army" fought for the rival Lebanese National Movement government

In addition, there was an autonomous faction within the "legal" Lebanese Army called the Army of Free Lebanon. It formed in 1976 and was composed of Maronites and Greek Catholics reacting against the split with the Lebanese Arab Army. It continued to be paid by the government, and was fully re-integrated into the "legal" army in 1978, with the exception of some units which chose instead to form the South Lebanon Army listed below.

Militia	Political Organization	Main faction	Community	Notes
Lebanese Forces	Lebanese Front (as a whole); Lebanese Forces Party led by Samir Geagea emerged from LF structure.	Lebanese Front	Maronite	Initially an umbrella organization for Maronite party militias; became an independent power structure in the year 1992.
Kataeb Regulatory Forces	Kataeb	Lebanese Front	Maronite
Kataeb Security Sections	Kataeb	Lebanese Front	Maronite	The Kataeb party's "police militia" First commander was Bashir Gemayel
Tigers Militia	National Liberal Party	Lebanese Front	Maronite
Zgharta Liberation Army (informally "Marada Brigades")	Marada Movement	Lebanese Front (until 1978)	Maronite	Operated around its power-base in northern Lebanon; pro-Syrian after 1978
Guardians of the Cedars	Lebanese Renewal Party	Lebanese Front	Maronite	Extremist group
"The Organization" In Arabic: At-tanzim	Cedars Movement	Lebanese Front	Maronite	Secretive, was possibly linked to Lebanese Army
South Lebanon Army	Government of Free Lebanon	Government of Free Lebanon	Maronite-led, Muslim recruits	Israeli proxy
Lebanese Forces – Executive Command	Promise Party (Waad) formed by Hobeika and loyalists.		Maronite	Notorious Lebanese Forces splinter group led by Hobeika; pro-Syrian
Lebanese Arab Army	Lebanese National Movement's (self-proclaimed) government	LNM/LNRM	Sunni (by default).	Broke away from Lebanese Army; considered itself the legitimate Lebanese Army and at highpoint controlled 3/4 of Lebanese Army positions
Arab Red Knights	Arab Democratic Party	LNRM	Alawite	Pro-Syrian; Small but received very considerable support from Syria's Alawite leader; eventually controlled Tripoli harbour
People's Liberation Army	Progressive Socialist Party	LNM/LNRM	Druze	Power base in the Chouf mountains south of Beirut
Lebanese Resistance Regiments (abbreviated to Amal)	Amal Movement	LNM/LNRM	Shi'a	Militia created with Fatah support
Islamic Resistance	Hezbollah	LNM/LNRM	Shi'a	Evolved from Amal in early 80s, initially as Iranian proxy
Palestinian Liberation Organization's affiliated militias (e.g. Fatah militia, PFLP-GC militia)	Palestinian Liberation Organization	Palestinian (at times fought alongside LNM/LNRM)	Palestinian	Different PLO militias often fought as proxies of different Arab states, including Syria, Iraq, & Libya
Palestinian Liberation Army	purely nominally, under the Palestinian Liberation Organization	As Syria required	Palestinian	Under Syrian command
Popular Guard	Lebanese Communist Party	LNM/LNRM	Secular	Secular, but most members nominally from Orthodox & Armenian communities
SSNP militia	Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP)	LNM/LNRM	Secular	Advocated union with Syria; 1976 split into pro- and anti-Assad factions members linked to assassinations of Jumblatt and Gemayel[1]
Murabitun	Independent Nasserite Movement	LNM/LNRM	Sunni
Tawheed	Islamic Unification Movement		Sunni	Islamist movement, mainly fought the Syrian army and its allies in Tripoli
Divisions of Victory	Union of Toiling Peoples Forces (a Nasserite group)	LNM/LNRM	Muslim	Pro-Syrian
Ba'ath militias	Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party	LNM/LNRM	Muslim	Split into two rival Ba'ath militias, one pro-Iraqi, the other pro-Syrian

References

1. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/lebanon/lb_appnb.html