guerrilla

Irregular soldier fighting in a small, unofficial unit, typically against an established or occupying power, and engaging in sabotage, ambush, and the like, rather than pitched battles against an opposing army. Guerrilla tactics have been used both by resistance armies in wartime (for example, the Vietnam War) and in peacetime by national liberation groups and militant political extremists (for example, the Tamil Tigers).

The term was first applied to the Spanish and Portuguese resistance to French occupation during the Peninsular War 1808–14. Guerrilla techniques were widely used in World War II – for example, in Greece and the Balkans. Political activists who resort to violence, particularly urban guerrillas, tend to be called ‘freedom fighters’ by those who support their cause, ‘terrorists’ by those who oppose it. Efforts by governments to put a stop to their activities have had only sporadic success. The Council of Europe has set up the European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism, to which many governments are signatories. In the UK the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1984 was aimed particularly at the Irish Republican Army.

Despite their earlier condemnation, many guerrilla leaders have eventually entered the political process; Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe is an example.