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 Somalia Parts of southern Somalia[1]
Syria Parts of Idlib province[2] and Aleppo province
Yemen 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 Saudi Arabia Areas near Najran.[8]
Yemen 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 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant  Iraq
 Nigeria
 Libya
 Syria		 Iraqi Civil War
Boko Haram insurgency
Syrian Civil War
Second Libyan Civil War
 2013 Iraq Parts of northwestern Iraq[10]
Nigeria Towns in northeast Nigeria[11]
Libya Parts of Libya[12]
Syria 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 Federation of 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 Afghanistan Kunduz Province,[23] 80% of the territory in Faryab Province[24] and Oruzgan Province.[25]
Pakistan 10% of territory in North Waziristan province[26]		 Taliban controlled territory is also shared with Uzbek Islamists. Quetta[27]
Tuareg Militias of Ghat  Libya Second Libyan Civil War 2014 Western Libya Ghat
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]
Central African Republic Séléka  CAR Central African Republic Civil War 2012 Northern CAR Kaga-Bandoro [30]
Zapatistas  Mexico Chiapas conflict 1994 The Councils of Good Government; parts of Chiapas.[31] 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

Angola

Burma

Main source Myanmar Peace Monitor.

Central African Republic

Central African Republic Séléka

Lord's Resistance Army

China

Further information: Xinjiang conflict

East Turkestan Islamic Movement

Colombia

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Egypt

Ethiopia

France

Greece

India

Indonesia

Iran

Iraq

Group Strength
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant 80,000-100,000[55]
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

Italy

Lebanon

Libya

Mali

Further information: Northern Mali conflict
Group Strength
Azawad National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad 10,000[56]
Ansar Dine 2,000
Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa
al-Qaeda 800
ISIL
Ansar al-Sharia (Mali)

Mexico

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

Palestine

Paraguay

Paraguayan People's Army

Peru

Further information: Internal conflict in Peru

Shining Path

Philippines

Russia

Senegal

South Sudan

Sudan

Further information: War in Darfur and Sudan–SRF conflict

Syria

Main coalitions

Group Strength
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant 50,000[55]
Islamic Front 50,000[72]
People's Protection Units 47,000
Syria Free Syrian Army 40,000
al-Qaeda 15,000
Ajnad al-Sham Islamic Union 15,000
Authenticity and Development Front 13,000
Army of Mujahedeen 8,000
Jabhat al-Akrad 7,000
Muhajirin wa-Ansar Alliance 6,000
Muslim Brotherhood of Syria 6,000
Jabhat Ansar al-Din 3,000
Syrian Revolutionary Command Council
Levant Front
Euphrates Volcano
Mujahideen Shura Council
Kurdistan Workers' Party
Ghuraba al-Sham
Jund al-Sham
Abdullah Azzam Brigade
Fatah al-Islam
Ansar al-Islam
Ahrar al-Jazeera
Sutoro
Syriac Military Council
Shammar
Asayish
Kurdistan Democratic Party
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
Group of the One and Only 300[73]
Syria Aleppo Liberation
Syria Ansar Brigade
Islamic Muthanna Movement
Jabhat Ansar al-Islam

Thailand

Further information: South Thailand insurgency

Turkey

Uganda

Ukraine

Further information: War in Donbass
Group Strength
Donetsk People's Republic Donetsk People's Republic
Luhansk People's Republic Lugansk People's Republic		 10,000–20,000[76][77][78]

United Kingdom

Uzbekistan

Yemen

See also

References

  1. ↑ Evan Centanni (May 31, 2013). "War in Somalia: Map of Al Shabaab Control (June 2013)". Political Geography Now. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Prensa Latina News Agency".
  3. ↑ "Aden intellgence service building targeted". AFP. Gulf News. 22 August 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  4. ↑ Al-Haj, Ahmed (22 August 2015). "Yemen Officials Say Al-Qaida Seizes Key Areas of Aden". ABC News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 22 August 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  5. ↑ "Syria's Qaeda leader killed in explosion - ARA News". ARA News. Archived from the original on 2015-03-08.
  6. 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.
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ Al-Haj, Ahmed (2 June 2015). "Houthi Rebels Take Over Yemen's Government". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 6 February 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  10. 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...
  11. ↑ 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...
  12. ↑ Paul Cruickshank; Nic Robertson; Tim Lister; Jomana Karadsheh (November 18, 2014). "ISIS comes to Libya". CNN. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Security Council Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee Amends Entry".
  14. ↑ "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.
  15. ↑
  16. ↑ "The war is far from over". The Economist.
  17. ↑ "A Tuareg soldier guards the Azawad Movement's headquarters in Kidal, northern Mali". Yahoo News. 5 June 2015.
  18. ↑ 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.
  19. ↑ "South Sudan rebels accuse monitors of spying". Sudan Tribune. August 25, 2014. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
  20. ↑ "South Sudan army halts offensive to capture rebel headquarters".
  21. ↑ "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.
  22. ↑ admin-1. "بيان من الحكومة السورية المؤقتة بمناسبة تحرير ادلب".
  23. ↑ Sune Engel Rasmussen. "Taliban capture key Afghan provincial capital Kunduz". the Guardian.
  24. ↑ "Afghan MP Says Taliban 'Very Much At Ease' In Faryab Province". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty.
  25. ↑ "Afghan province sliding back towards Taliban control". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  26. ↑ "Zarb-e-Azb: 90% area recovered, 1198 terrorists killed". dunyanews.tv. November 16, 2014. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014.
  27. ↑ "ISIS active in south Afghanistan, officials confirm for first time". CBS and AP. January 12, 2015. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  28. ↑ 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.
  29. ↑ Moe, Wai (17 April 2009). "UWSA Leader Calls for 'Solid, United' Wa State". irrawaddy.org. Archived from the original on 27 April 2009. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  30. ↑ Crispin Dembassa-Kette (December 16, 2015). "Rebel declares autonomous state in Central African Republic". Reuters. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  31. ↑ 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.
  32. ↑ Wright 2006, pp. 107–108, 185, 270–271
  33. ↑ Afghanistan: Skeptics Urge Caution Over Purported Hekmatyar Cease-Fire July 19, 2007
  34. ↑ "Les zones d'influence talibanes en Afghanistan" [Taliban zones of influence in Afghanistan] (in French). Le Monde.fr. 3 May 2007. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  35. ↑ 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.
  36. ↑ Administrator. "UNFC".
  37. ↑ Kachin Independence Army.
  38. ↑ "KNU History". karennationalunion.net. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  39. ↑ Naing, Saw Yan (23 February 2011). "Ethnic Armed Groups to Negotiate Jointly". irrawaddy.org. Archived from the original on 2 March 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  40. ↑ Htwe, Ko (24 February 2011). "Three Burmese Soldiers Killed in Southern Shan State". irrawaddy.org. Archived from the original on 2 March 2011.
  41. 1 2 "Council Decision of 21 December 2005: implementing Article 2(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2580/2001 on specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities with a view to combating terrorism and repealing Decision 2005/848/EC". Official Journal of the European Union. 23 December 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2009. Retrieved 6 July 2008. line feed character in |title= at position 17 (help)
  42. ↑ "Secretaría de Prensa Comunicados: Comunicados Enero 2008" [Secretariat Press Releases: Press Release January 2008]. Government of Colombia (Press release) (in Spanish). January 2008. Archived from the original on 8 January 2009. (Translation) All violent groups in Colombia are terrorists.
  43. ↑ Kingsley, Patrick. "Egypt faces new threat in al-Qaeda linked group Ansar Beyt al-Maqdis". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  44. ↑ Troops die in India Maoist attack, BBC News Online, April 13, 2009
  45. ↑ Indictment of John Walker Lindh American Rhetoric February, 2002
  46. ↑ "Combating terrorism – Restrictive measures against certain persons and entities" (PDF). Council of the European Union (Press release). 30 November 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 25 May 2009.
  47. ↑ "EU adds Hizbul Mujahideen to terror list". Rediff India Abroad. 1 December 2005. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  48. ↑ "International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) - Punjab Terrorist Outfit Profile". Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  49. ↑ "Jaish-e-Mohammad: A profile". BBC News. 6 February 2002. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
  50. ↑ "U.S. Court Convicts Khalid Awan for Supporting Khalistan Commando Force". Embassy of the United States, New Delhi (Press release). 20 December 2006. Archived from the original on 11 December 2008.
  51. ↑ Kurth Cronin, Audrey; Aden, Huda; Frost, Adam; Jones, Benjamin (February 6, 2004). "Foreign Terrorist Organizations" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  52. ↑ "Students Islamist Movement of India (SIMI)". Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  53. ↑ "United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA)". Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  54. ↑ Pavlova, Elena (14 November 2006). "From Counter-Society to Counter-State: Jemaah Islamiyah According to Pupji" (PDF). Nanyang Technological University, Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2009.
  55. 1 2 "Islamic State 'has 50,000 fighters in Syria'". al-Jazeera. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  56. ↑ "mages and exclusive testimony of northern Mali: a colonel MNLA reveals its military arsenal". France 24. Archived from the original on 2012-06-24. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  57. ↑ Tobar, Hector (20 September 2007). "A small guerrilla band is waging war in Mexico". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 25 July 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
  58. ↑ O'Neil, Patrick H.; Fields, Karl; Share, Don (2006), Cases in Comparative Politics (2nd ed.), New York: Norton, pp. 376–378, ISBN 0-393-92943-4
  59. ↑ Sahi, Aoun; Magnier, Mark (21 October 2013). "Passenger train bombed in Pakistan, at least seven dead". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 24 October 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  60. ↑ Laub, Zachary; Bajoria, Jayshree; Masters, Jonathan (18 November 2013). "Pakistan's New Generation of Terrorists". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  61. ↑ Rehmat, Kamran (27 January 2009). "Swat: Pakistan's lost paradise". Islamabad: Al Jazeera. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
  62. ↑ "Pakistan's extremists: The slide downhill". The Economist. 8 April 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-04-15. Retrieved 19 April 2009.
  63. ↑ Bajoria, Jayshree (6 February 2008). "Pakistan's New Generation of Terrorists". Council on Foreign Relations. Archived from the original on 2 June 2009.
  64. ↑ Sidikov, Alisher (2 July 2003). "Pakistan Blames IMU Militants For Afghan Border Unrest". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 3 July 2008.
  65. ↑ "Terrorist Group of Pakistan: Lashkar-e-Omar (The Army of Omar)". South Asia Terrorism Portal. 2002. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  66. ↑ Powell, Colin (9 August 2002). "Designation of a Foreign Terrorist Organization". U.S. State Department. Archived from the original on 14 March 2007. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  67. ↑ de Guzman, Orlando (6 May 2003). "The Philippines' MILF rebels". BBC News. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  68. ↑ "Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG)". MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base. Archived from the original on 27 August 2006. Retrieved 20 September 2006.
  69. ↑ Philippines arrests key militants - BBC.com
  70. ↑ Cochrane, Joe (May 2006). "Ticking Time Bombs". Newsweek International (MSN). Archived from the original on 20 September 2006.
  71. ↑ "Uganda to head new military force to hunt for Kony". hindustantimes.com. Reuters. 18 March 2012. Archived from the original on 26 December 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  72. ↑ "Factbox: Syria's rebel groups". Reuters. 9 January 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  73. ↑ Paraszczuk, Joanna (6 August 2014). "Guest post: Muhajireen Battalion - Jamaat Ahadun Ahad". chechensinsyria.com. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  74. ↑ "The Children Brainwashed To Become Jihadis". 15 Oct 2015.
  75. ↑ McKinley, James C. Jr (1 April 1996). "Uganda's Christian Rebels Revive War in North". New York Times. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  76. ↑ "Ukraine army still far from victory over rebels in east". BBC. 8 July 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  77. ↑ "Ukraine's next battle is Donetsk, but no bombs, please". USA Today. 12 July 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  78. ↑ "The army of the Lugansk and Donetsk People's Republics has 20,000 fighters - Gubarev". ITAR-TASS. 9 July 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
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