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:
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 mainly Muslim 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.
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Militia | Fighters | Time | Demographic | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Lebanese Forces | 40,000 | 1976-1994 | Maronite | Initially an umbrella organization for Maronite party militias; became an independent power structure in the year 1992. |
Army of Free Lebanon | 3,000 | 1976-1978 | Christian | Dissident faction of the Lebanese Army |
Tyous Team of Commandos | 100 | 1975-1985 | Maronite | |
Zahloite Group | 500 | 1975-1978 | Christian | Formed by a middle-class man against local feudal clans |
Kataeb Regulatory Forces | 10,000-15,000 | 1961-1984 | Maronite | |
Kataeb Security Sections | 1,000 | 1976-1984 | Maronite | The Kataeb party's "police militia". First commander was Bashir Gemayel |
Vanguard of the Maani Army | 200 | 1976-1978 | Druze | |
Maronite League | 200 | 1952-current | Maronite | A military wing was formed in 1975 for the organization of Lebanese Christian Maronite notables |
Young Men | 100 | 1976-1986 | Christian | Very loosely organised militia |
Tigers Militia | 3,500 | 1968-1980 | Maronite | The organization was first aligned with the LF disbanded during the inter-Christian conflicts |
Zgharta Liberation Army | 2,400-3,500 | 1967-1991 | Maronite | Operated around its power-base in northern Lebanon; pro-Syrian after 1978 |
Popular Revolutionary Resistance Organization | Unknown | 1987 | Christian | Secretive underground party regarded as extremist. All names are believed to be the same organization. |
Guardians of the Cedars | 6,000 | 1975-1990 | Maronite | Founder currently lives in exile |
Lebanese Youth Movement | 500-1,000 | 1975-1977 | Maronite | Founded by right-wing Maronite university students. |
Sons of the South | Unknown | 1983-1995 | Christian | Usually operated in the Jabal Amel region close to the Israeli-controlled 'Security Zone' |
South Lebanon Army | 5,000 | 1977-2000 | Secular | Based itself in Saad Haddad's unrecognized State of Free Lebanon. |
Assyrian Battalion | Unknown | 1980 | Assyrian | Very little is known about the militia |
Al-Tanzim | 1,500 | 1969-1990 | Maronite | Secretive, was possibly linked to the Lebanese Army |
Militia | Fighters | Operation | Demographic | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Lebanese Arab Army | 4,400 | 1976-1977 | Sunni | Broke away from Lebanese Army;
considered itself the legitimate Lebanese Army and at highpoint controlled 3/4 of Lebanese Army positions |
Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Lebanon Region | 2,000 [1] | 1953-current | Sunni | Syrian Ba'ath group in Lebanon |
Arab Cavalier Force | 1,500 | 1981-1991 | Sunni | Formed by 500 breakaway members of the Lebanese Arab Army. It was funded and trained by Rifat al Asaad. [2] |
Arab Communist Organization | Unknown | 1969-1977 | Secular | The group focused mainly on bomb attacks and extortion attempts targeting American and British civilian and economic interests in Lebanon |
Arab Red Knights | 1,000 | 1981-1990 | Alawite | Pro-Syrian; small but received very considerable support from Syria's Alawite leader; eventually controlled Tripoli harbour. Military wing of the Arab Democratic Party. |
Zafer el-Khatib Forces | 200-500 [3] | 1975-1991 [4] | Sunni | Established a close relationship with the Shia Amal Movement |
Kurdish Democratic Party | Unknown | 1985-1990 | Kurdish | Joined forces with the Razkari Party to form the Progressive Kurdish Front |
People's Liberation Army | 17,000 | 1975-1994 | Druze | Power base in the Chouf and controlled its own canton |
Communist Action Organization in Lebanon | 150-200 [5] | 1973-1980s | Secular | |
Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions | 30 | 1979-1988 | Secular | |
Lebanese Resistance Regiments (AMAL) | 16,000 | 1975-1991 | Shi'a | Militia created with Fatah support |
Islamic Unification Movement | 1,000 | 1982-current | Sunni | The militia had strong involvement in Tripoli and South Lebanon. |
Islamic Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine | Unknown | 1987 | Shi'a | Claimed responsibility for the abduction of three American and one Indian professors from Beirut University College. [6] [7] |
Islamic Resistance | 5,000 | 1983-current | Shi'a | Evolved from Amal in early 1980s, initially as Iranian proxy |
Islamic Jihad Organization | 400 | 1983-1992 | Shi'a | Claimed responsibility for many attacks and kidnapping against the United States |
Islamic Amal | Unknown | 1982-1987 | Shi'a | The movement got its start in June 1982 when Nabih Berri, the head of Amal, agreed to participate in the Salvation Committee |
National Liberation Army | 500-1000 | 1975-1980s | Sunni | The military wing of the Popular Nasserist Organization |
Sixth of February Movement | 150 | 1975-1986 | Sunni | Trained by the Palestine Liberation Organization. [8] |
Arab Socialist Action Party – Lebanon | Unknown | 1969-1980s | Secular | The party was founded by George Habash in 1969 and was closely linked to the PFLP, which Habash also led. [9] [10] |
Najjadeh Party | 100 | 1975-1976 | Secular | A party which emerged during the French era. |
Popular Guard | 5,000 | 1970-1990 | Secular | Secular, but most members nominally from Eastern Orthodox & Oriental Orthodox communities |
Lebanese Forces – Executive Command | 1,000 | 1986-1991 | Christian | A splinter group from the Lebanese Forces led by Elie Hobeika based in Zahle |
Free Tigers | 200 | 1980-1981 | Christian | Dissident splinter group of the NLP Tigers after the forced merger with the Lebanese Front |
SSNP militia | 10,000 | 1975-1990 | Secular | Advocated union with Syria;
1976 split into pro- and anti- Assad factions members linked to assassinations of Jumblatt and Gemayel |
Nasser's Forces | Unknown | 1975-1990 [11] | Sunni | The party and its military wing were supported financially and militarily by the Libyan government. [12] |
Nasserist Unionists Movement | Unknown | 1982-current | Sunni | Splinter faction of the INM/ Al-Mourabitoun |
Al-Mourabitoun | 3,000 | 1975-1985 | Sunni | |
Victory Divisions | 1,000 | 1975-1978 | Muslim | Pro-Syrian, military wing of the Union of Working People's Forces |
Ba'ath militias | Unknown | 1975-1990 | Secular | Split into two rival Ba'ath militias, one pro-Iraqi, the other pro-Syrian |
Socialist Arab Lebanon Vanguard Party | 2500 | 1966-current | secular | Iraqi Ba'ath group in Lebanon |
Lebanese Movement in Support of Fatah | Unknown | Unknown | Sunni | LMSF received Fatah backing from the outset and joined the ranks of the Lebanese National Movement (LNM) |
United Nasserite Organization | 50-100 | 1986-1991 | Sunni | Suspected to be merely a cover for the National Revolutionary Command (Omar al-Mukhtar) |
Zafer el-Khatib Forces | 200-500 | 1975-1990 | Sunni | Military wing of the Toilers League |
Militia | Fighters | Operation | Demographic | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Lebanese Armed Forces | 50,000 | 1945-current | Secular | Had numerous splinter groups and different leaderships throughout the war |
Front for the Liberation of Lebanon from Foreigners | Unknown | 1980s | Secular | Obscure underground militant organization covertly formed by Israel in Lebanon in the early 1980s to undermine Palestinian and Syrian forces |
Soldiers of the Right | Unknown | 1988-1989 | Muslim | An unknown underground group which claimed responsibility for multiple kidnappings and murders in Europe and Lebanon |
Liberation Battalion | Unknown | 1987-1988 | Secular | Organization dedicated to attacking Syrian Army in Lebanon during the 1980s. Suspected to have relations to both LF and Hezbollah |
M.U.R. | Unknown | 1991-1994 | Secular | liberation armed group fighting Lebanon's occupation by foreign armies in the 1990s |
Razkari Party | Unknown | 1975-current | Kurdish |
Militia | Fighters | Operation | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Palestinian | |||
Abu Nidal Organization | Unknown | 1974-1997 | A breakaway from Fatah led by Abu Nidal |
Fatah | 7000 | 1965-preset | Fatah became the dominant force in Palestinian politics after the Six-Day War in 1967. |
Fatah al-Intifada | 3500 | 1983–present | Splinter group of Fatah |
PLFP-GC | 2000 | 1968-preset | Syrian-backed splinter group from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine |
PFLP | 2000 | 1967–present | After the Six-Day War of June 1967 |
PNSF | Unknown | 1985-1991 | Mostly participated in the War of the Camps |
PPSP | 200 | 1967–present | Supported by Syria and Libya |
As-Sa'iqa | 4500 | 1966–present | Used by Syria as a proxy force in the Palestinian movement |
Revolutionary Palestinian Communist Party | Unknown | 1982–present | Took part in the armed resistance against the Israeli invasion in Lebanon |
DFLP | 2500 | 1968–present | |
Armenian | |||
ASALA | Unknown | 1975-1991 | Committed many terrorist attacks internationally |
Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide | Unknown | 1975-1987 | Committed many murders during the war both in Lebanon and internationally. Military wing of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation |
Iraqi | |||
Jihadi Wing | 2000+ | 1979-2003 | Responsible for the Iraqi embassy bombing in Beirut |
Kurdistan Workers' Party | Unknown | 1980-1984 | Was involved in attacks against Israel after their expulsion from Turkey and relocation to the Beqaa Valley. |
State militaries | |||
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps | 20000+ | 1982 | The IRGC allegedly sent troops to train fighters in response to the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. [13] |
Israel | 78000 | 1978-2000 | Funded right-wing militia groups throughout the war. Invaded Lebanon in 1978 and in 1982. |
Saudi Arabia | 3200 | 1976-1979 | Part of the Arab Deterrent Force |
Sudan | 1000 | 1976-1979 | Part of the Arab Deterrent Force |
United Arab Emirates | 1500 | 1976-1979 | Part of the Arab Deterrent Force |
Libya | 2000 | 1976 | Part of the Arab Deterrent Force |
South Yemen | 1000 | 1976-1977 | Part of the Arab Deterrent Force |
Syria | 35000 | 1976-1991 | Invaded Lebanon in 1976 |
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:
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 mainly Muslim 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 | Fighters | Time | Demographic | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Lebanese Forces | 40,000 | 1976-1994 | Maronite | Initially an umbrella organization for Maronite party militias; became an independent power structure in the year 1992. |
Army of Free Lebanon | 3,000 | 1976-1978 | Christian | Dissident faction of the Lebanese Army |
Tyous Team of Commandos | 100 | 1975-1985 | Maronite | |
Zahloite Group | 500 | 1975-1978 | Christian | Formed by a middle-class man against local feudal clans |
Kataeb Regulatory Forces | 10,000-15,000 | 1961-1984 | Maronite | |
Kataeb Security Sections | 1,000 | 1976-1984 | Maronite | The Kataeb party's "police militia". First commander was Bashir Gemayel |
Vanguard of the Maani Army | 200 | 1976-1978 | Druze | |
Maronite League | 200 | 1952-current | Maronite | A military wing was formed in 1975 for the organization of Lebanese Christian Maronite notables |
Young Men | 100 | 1976-1986 | Christian | Very loosely organised militia |
Tigers Militia | 3,500 | 1968-1980 | Maronite | The organization was first aligned with the LF disbanded during the inter-Christian conflicts |
Zgharta Liberation Army | 2,400-3,500 | 1967-1991 | Maronite | Operated around its power-base in northern Lebanon; pro-Syrian after 1978 |
Popular Revolutionary Resistance Organization | Unknown | 1987 | Christian | Secretive underground party regarded as extremist. All names are believed to be the same organization. |
Guardians of the Cedars | 6,000 | 1975-1990 | Maronite | Founder currently lives in exile |
Lebanese Youth Movement | 500-1,000 | 1975-1977 | Maronite | Founded by right-wing Maronite university students. |
Sons of the South | Unknown | 1983-1995 | Christian | Usually operated in the Jabal Amel region close to the Israeli-controlled 'Security Zone' |
South Lebanon Army | 5,000 | 1977-2000 | Secular | Based itself in Saad Haddad's unrecognized State of Free Lebanon. |
Assyrian Battalion | Unknown | 1980 | Assyrian | Very little is known about the militia |
Al-Tanzim | 1,500 | 1969-1990 | Maronite | Secretive, was possibly linked to the Lebanese Army |
Militia | Fighters | Operation | Demographic | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Lebanese Arab Army | 4,400 | 1976-1977 | Sunni | Broke away from Lebanese Army;
considered itself the legitimate Lebanese Army and at highpoint controlled 3/4 of Lebanese Army positions |
Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Lebanon Region | 2,000 [1] | 1953-current | Sunni | Syrian Ba'ath group in Lebanon |
Arab Cavalier Force | 1,500 | 1981-1991 | Sunni | Formed by 500 breakaway members of the Lebanese Arab Army. It was funded and trained by Rifat al Asaad. [2] |
Arab Communist Organization | Unknown | 1969-1977 | Secular | The group focused mainly on bomb attacks and extortion attempts targeting American and British civilian and economic interests in Lebanon |
Arab Red Knights | 1,000 | 1981-1990 | Alawite | Pro-Syrian; small but received very considerable support from Syria's Alawite leader; eventually controlled Tripoli harbour. Military wing of the Arab Democratic Party. |
Zafer el-Khatib Forces | 200-500 [3] | 1975-1991 [4] | Sunni | Established a close relationship with the Shia Amal Movement |
Kurdish Democratic Party | Unknown | 1985-1990 | Kurdish | Joined forces with the Razkari Party to form the Progressive Kurdish Front |
People's Liberation Army | 17,000 | 1975-1994 | Druze | Power base in the Chouf and controlled its own canton |
Communist Action Organization in Lebanon | 150-200 [5] | 1973-1980s | Secular | |
Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions | 30 | 1979-1988 | Secular | |
Lebanese Resistance Regiments (AMAL) | 16,000 | 1975-1991 | Shi'a | Militia created with Fatah support |
Islamic Unification Movement | 1,000 | 1982-current | Sunni | The militia had strong involvement in Tripoli and South Lebanon. |
Islamic Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine | Unknown | 1987 | Shi'a | Claimed responsibility for the abduction of three American and one Indian professors from Beirut University College. [6] [7] |
Islamic Resistance | 5,000 | 1983-current | Shi'a | Evolved from Amal in early 1980s, initially as Iranian proxy |
Islamic Jihad Organization | 400 | 1983-1992 | Shi'a | Claimed responsibility for many attacks and kidnapping against the United States |
Islamic Amal | Unknown | 1982-1987 | Shi'a | The movement got its start in June 1982 when Nabih Berri, the head of Amal, agreed to participate in the Salvation Committee |
National Liberation Army | 500-1000 | 1975-1980s | Sunni | The military wing of the Popular Nasserist Organization |
Sixth of February Movement | 150 | 1975-1986 | Sunni | Trained by the Palestine Liberation Organization. [8] |
Arab Socialist Action Party – Lebanon | Unknown | 1969-1980s | Secular | The party was founded by George Habash in 1969 and was closely linked to the PFLP, which Habash also led. [9] [10] |
Najjadeh Party | 100 | 1975-1976 | Secular | A party which emerged during the French era. |
Popular Guard | 5,000 | 1970-1990 | Secular | Secular, but most members nominally from Eastern Orthodox & Oriental Orthodox communities |
Lebanese Forces – Executive Command | 1,000 | 1986-1991 | Christian | A splinter group from the Lebanese Forces led by Elie Hobeika based in Zahle |
Free Tigers | 200 | 1980-1981 | Christian | Dissident splinter group of the NLP Tigers after the forced merger with the Lebanese Front |
SSNP militia | 10,000 | 1975-1990 | Secular | Advocated union with Syria;
1976 split into pro- and anti- Assad factions members linked to assassinations of Jumblatt and Gemayel |
Nasser's Forces | Unknown | 1975-1990 [11] | Sunni | The party and its military wing were supported financially and militarily by the Libyan government. [12] |
Nasserist Unionists Movement | Unknown | 1982-current | Sunni | Splinter faction of the INM/ Al-Mourabitoun |
Al-Mourabitoun | 3,000 | 1975-1985 | Sunni | |
Victory Divisions | 1,000 | 1975-1978 | Muslim | Pro-Syrian, military wing of the Union of Working People's Forces |
Ba'ath militias | Unknown | 1975-1990 | Secular | Split into two rival Ba'ath militias, one pro-Iraqi, the other pro-Syrian |
Socialist Arab Lebanon Vanguard Party | 2500 | 1966-current | secular | Iraqi Ba'ath group in Lebanon |
Lebanese Movement in Support of Fatah | Unknown | Unknown | Sunni | LMSF received Fatah backing from the outset and joined the ranks of the Lebanese National Movement (LNM) |
United Nasserite Organization | 50-100 | 1986-1991 | Sunni | Suspected to be merely a cover for the National Revolutionary Command (Omar al-Mukhtar) |
Zafer el-Khatib Forces | 200-500 | 1975-1990 | Sunni | Military wing of the Toilers League |
Militia | Fighters | Operation | Demographic | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Lebanese Armed Forces | 50,000 | 1945-current | Secular | Had numerous splinter groups and different leaderships throughout the war |
Front for the Liberation of Lebanon from Foreigners | Unknown | 1980s | Secular | Obscure underground militant organization covertly formed by Israel in Lebanon in the early 1980s to undermine Palestinian and Syrian forces |
Soldiers of the Right | Unknown | 1988-1989 | Muslim | An unknown underground group which claimed responsibility for multiple kidnappings and murders in Europe and Lebanon |
Liberation Battalion | Unknown | 1987-1988 | Secular | Organization dedicated to attacking Syrian Army in Lebanon during the 1980s. Suspected to have relations to both LF and Hezbollah |
M.U.R. | Unknown | 1991-1994 | Secular | liberation armed group fighting Lebanon's occupation by foreign armies in the 1990s |
Razkari Party | Unknown | 1975-current | Kurdish |
Militia | Fighters | Operation | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Palestinian | |||
Abu Nidal Organization | Unknown | 1974-1997 | A breakaway from Fatah led by Abu Nidal |
Fatah | 7000 | 1965-preset | Fatah became the dominant force in Palestinian politics after the Six-Day War in 1967. |
Fatah al-Intifada | 3500 | 1983–present | Splinter group of Fatah |
PLFP-GC | 2000 | 1968-preset | Syrian-backed splinter group from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine |
PFLP | 2000 | 1967–present | After the Six-Day War of June 1967 |
PNSF | Unknown | 1985-1991 | Mostly participated in the War of the Camps |
PPSP | 200 | 1967–present | Supported by Syria and Libya |
As-Sa'iqa | 4500 | 1966–present | Used by Syria as a proxy force in the Palestinian movement |
Revolutionary Palestinian Communist Party | Unknown | 1982–present | Took part in the armed resistance against the Israeli invasion in Lebanon |
DFLP | 2500 | 1968–present | |
Armenian | |||
ASALA | Unknown | 1975-1991 | Committed many terrorist attacks internationally |
Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide | Unknown | 1975-1987 | Committed many murders during the war both in Lebanon and internationally. Military wing of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation |
Iraqi | |||
Jihadi Wing | 2000+ | 1979-2003 | Responsible for the Iraqi embassy bombing in Beirut |
Kurdistan Workers' Party | Unknown | 1980-1984 | Was involved in attacks against Israel after their expulsion from Turkey and relocation to the Beqaa Valley. |
State militaries | |||
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps | 20000+ | 1982 | The IRGC allegedly sent troops to train fighters in response to the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. [13] |
Israel | 78000 | 1978-2000 | Funded right-wing militia groups throughout the war. Invaded Lebanon in 1978 and in 1982. |
Saudi Arabia | 3200 | 1976-1979 | Part of the Arab Deterrent Force |
Sudan | 1000 | 1976-1979 | Part of the Arab Deterrent Force |
United Arab Emirates | 1500 | 1976-1979 | Part of the Arab Deterrent Force |
Libya | 2000 | 1976 | Part of the Arab Deterrent Force |
South Yemen | 1000 | 1976-1977 | Part of the Arab Deterrent Force |
Syria | 35000 | 1976-1991 | Invaded Lebanon in 1976 |