List of paramilitary organizations

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File:Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers detain a role player aboard the survey research vessel R-V Strait Hunter, which was simulating a migrant vessel during exercise Frontier Sentinel 2012 in Sydney, Nova 120508-N-IL267-013.jpg
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Emergency Response Team officers detain a role player aboard the survey research vessel R-V Strait Hunter, which was simulating a migrant vessel during exercise Frontier Sentinel 2012 in Sydney, Nova Scotia 120508-N-IL267-013

Paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces.[1] The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934.[2]

Though a paramilitary is, by definition, not a military, it is usually equivalent to a light infantry or special forces in terms of strength, firepower, and organizational structure.[3] Paramilitaries use combat-capable kit/equipment (such as internal security/SWAT vehicles), or even actual military equipment[4] (such as long guns and armored personnel carriers; usually military surplus resources), skills (such as battlefield medicine and bomb disposal), and tactics (such as urban warfare and close-quarters combat) that are compatible with their purpose, often combining them with skills from other relevant fields such as law enforcement, coast guard, or search and rescue. A paramilitary may fall under the command of a military, train alongside them, or have permission to use their resources, despite not actually being part of them.[4]

Governmental paramilitary units

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File:SWAT team training with assault rifles.JPG
SWAT team training with M-16 style rifles

Africa

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Egypt

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  • Avengers of Blood[5]

Mauritius

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Nigeria

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Sudan

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Somaliland

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Americas

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Canada

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Costa Rica

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The Public Force of Costa Rica is responsible for law enforcement duties, acting as both a civilian police force and gendarmerie. In addition to ordinary policing, it is responsible for border patrol, counter-insurgency, riot control, tourism security, and coast guard duties.

  • The Rondas campesinas are community-based groups in Peru, formed initially to combat cattle rustling and later in response to the Shining Path insurgency. They function primarily as local self-defense and law enforcement entities, especially in rural areas with limited government presence.

United States

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Venezuela

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Bangladesh

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Name Active Since Type Comments Size Ref(s)
Bangladesh Ansar 12 February 1948 Gendarmerie Largest paramilitary force in the world 6.2 million [6]
Border Guard Bangladesh Border surveillance and internal security personnel 70 thousand
Bangladesh Coast Guard 14 February 1995
Bangladesh National Cadet Corps 23 March 1979 Provides Basic Military training to students from schools, colleges and universities. 23968 Official website

China (People's Republic of China)

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Name Active Since Type Comments Size Ref(s)
People's Armed Police 19 June 1982 Gendarmerie 1.5 million [7]
Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps 1954 State-owned enterprise
Paramilitary organisation
unknown, officially 2.6 million employees
Militia of China 1927 Militia for general national defense mobilization 8,000,000[8] [9]
Maritime Militia of China 1949-1950 Naval militia Unknown.

Taiwan (Republic of China)

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Name Active Since Type Comments Size Ref(s)
National Police Agency 5 July 1972 Law enforcement agency
Thunder Squad 1985 Localized Police tactical unit 200
Special Operations Group Elite Paramilitary Special Forces Police tactical unit

Hong Kong

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Name Active Since Type Comments Size Ref(s)
Civil Aid Service 1952 Emergency Response/Search and Rescue Civil Agency 112 full time; 3,634 adult members and 3,232 cadet members
Government Flying Service 1993 Paramilitary Law Enforcement related Air support services 335
Hong Kong Police Force Police force For subdivisions, see Structure of the Hong Kong Police Force. Disciplined officers: 33,210 (2023)[10]
Auxiliary officers: 4,501 (2021),[11] Unsworn: 4,735 (2023)[10]
Special Duties Unit 23 July 1974 Elite Paramilitary Special Forces Police tactical unit Over 120[12]
Counter Terrorism Response Unit July 2009 Anti-terrorism patrol-type Police tactical unit 141 (2011)[13]

India

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Name Active Since Type Comments Size Ref(s)
Assam Rifles 1835 Border Guarding and law enforcement force Indo-Myanmmar Border and Internal security 65,678 [14]
CRPF 27 July 1937 A central police force whose job is to assist state government, police or other agencies at time of their needs Internal security 313,678 [15]
ITBP 1962 Border Guarding and Law enforcement force which operates on the Indo - Chinese borders Border guarding and Himmalyan security 89,432 [16]
Sashastra Seema Bal 20 December 1963 Border guarding force of India deployed along its borders with Nepal and Bhutan Border guarding 94,261
BSF 1 December 1965 Largest border guarding force anywhere in the world Indo-Pakistan and Indo-Bangladesh borders 290,000 [17]
CISF 10 March 1969 Guard Sensitive National Assets Internal protection and security 190,000
NSG 16 October 1984 Counter-terrorism force This force recruits its personnel from the police, paramilitary and Army from all around the India with the maximum service tenure of five years. 10,000

Indonesia

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Name Active Since Type Comments Size Ref(s)
Detachment 88 30 June 2003 (2003-06-30) Police tactical unit 1,300[18]
Mobile Brigade Corps 14 November 1945 (1945-11-14) Police tactical unit 34,250 (2008)[19]

Japan

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Name Active Since Type Comments Size Ref(s)
National Police Agency 1 July 1954 (1954-07-01) Law enforcement agency 7,995 (2020)[20]
Special Assault Team 1977 Elite Paramilitary Special Forces Police tactical unit Approx. 300

North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea)

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Name Active Since Type Comments Size Ref(s)
People's Border Guards Border surveillance and internal security personnel
Worker-Peasant Red Guards January 1959 Paramilitary militia 5 million

South Korea (Republic of Korea)

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Name Active Since Type Comments Size Ref(s)
National Police Agency 1 August 1991 Law enforcement agency 126,227 (2020)[21]
Special Operations Unit Elite Paramilitary Special Forces Police tactical unit

Malaysia

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Nepal

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Name Active Since Type Comments Size Ref(s)
Armed Police Force 24 October 2001 Counter-insurgency Specialised Police Force 35,000 [22]

Pakistan

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Paramilitary forces under the Ministry of Defense
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Philippines

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Name Active Since Type Comments Size Ref(s)
Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit 25 July 1987 Auxiliary unit 60,000 (2007) [23]
Special Action Force

Sri Lanka

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Name Active Since Type Comments Size Ref(s)
Special Task Force 1983 Elite ParamilitarySpecial Operations Forces 8000(approx)

Thailand

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Name Active Since Type Comments Size Ref(s)
Border Patrol Police
Marine Paramilitary Task Force
Paramilitary Marine Regiment, Royal Thai Navy Also known as Thahan Phran Marines
Thahan Phran Also known as Thai Rangers
Village Scouts
Volunteer Defense Corps 10 February 1954 Security Forces Unknown [24]

Vietnam

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Europe

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Albania

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Estonia

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Finland

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France

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Georgia

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Italy

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Name Active Since Type Comments Size Ref(s)
Arma dei Carabinieri 13 July 1814 Gendarmerie 110.000 (2023)
Guardia di Finanza 1 October 1774 Gendarmerie 68.000 (2015)

Latvia

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Lithuania

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Netherlands

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Poland

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Portugal

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Russia

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Turkey

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Ukraine

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United Kingdom

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Middle East

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Israel

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Syria

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Oceania

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Australia

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Non-governmental paramilitary units

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Africa

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Somalia

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Sudan

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Americas

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Colombia

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See also Right-wing paramilitarism in Colombia.

Mexico

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United States

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Various non-governmental Militia organizations in the United States, that are not associated with the U.S. military, law enforcement agencies, nor state defense forces in any way. There are many others totaling at around 334 militia movement groups as of 2011[28] See also List of militia organizations in the United States

Cambodia

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India

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Hindutva
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Islamism
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Kashmir
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Khalistan
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Northeast India
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Assam
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Manipur
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Meghalaya
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Nagaland
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Naxalite–Maoist
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Indonesia

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Malaysia

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Myanmar

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Philippines

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Sri Lanka

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Thailand

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Europe

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Kosovo

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Bosnia and Herzegovina

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Croatia

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  • Ustaše Militia acted as a para-military unit, an auxiliary part of the WW2 Croatian Nazi Puppet State's Armed Forces
  • HOS-Hrvatske obrambene snage right wing para-military organisation, later absorbed in regular Croatian military during homeland war for independence 1991-1995.

Georgia

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Ireland

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  • Óglaigh na hÉireann (OnH) (2006–09): Small dissident Irish republican group, split from the Continuity IRA.
  • Óglaigh na hÉireann (OnH) (2009–): Dissident Irish republican group, split from the Real IRA due to differences in leadership and factionalism.

Russia

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Turkey

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Ukraine

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United Kingdom

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There are a number of paramilitary organisations in the United Kingdom, most of them operate in and around Northern Ireland and are a continuation of the various paramilitary groups which operated in Northern Ireland during The Troubles. Apart from these, there are a small number of white supremacist paramilitary organisations which operate in the United Kingdom.

Middle East

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Lebanon

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Palestine

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Multinational

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  • Nordic Strength[citation needed]
  • Sea Org: Scientology elite group with roots in naval tradition including time spent at Sea in a fleet of ships during the 1960s and 1970s. Became land based in 1975.[35]: 93 [36]: 26  Dress in uniforms, live communally in barracks, and are organized around naval ranks. Some dispute whether it is paramilitary.

See also

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Footnotes

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  7. ^ Shambaugh 2002, p. 170
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  9. ^ Shambaugh 2002, p. 170
  10. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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  19. ^ International Business Publications USA, US-Indonesia Diplomatic and Political Relations Handbook, 2008
  20. ^ 行政機関職員定員令(昭和44年5月16日政令第121号)(最終改正、令和2年3月30日政令第75号) - e-Gov法令検索
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  29. ^ Kachin conflict#First conflict (1961–1994)
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References

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  • Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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