Irregular troop

Irregular troops are armed forces that are not directed by state institutions and therefore act independently of state power . It is the opposite of a regular army .

Often these are less hierarchically structured and less well equipped than “regular troops ”. The members of the irregular troops can, under certain conditions, be considered combatants and thus be protected by the Third Geneva Convention .

Examples

• armed forces of a warlord
• guerrilla
• Partisans
• Rugaruga as auxiliary organizations of the colonial military in East Africa
• Saddam Fedayeen (in Iraq )
• Franc-tireurs (in the Franco-Prussian War )
• Freischaren (or Freikorps ; Italy under Garibaldi, Germany in the Weimar Republic)
• Pindari (in 18th and 19th century India)

See also

Wiktionary: irregular  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations