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 OrganizationLebanese Liberation Front | 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 | ||||
| Armenian Revolutionary Federation | Unknown | 1975-1991 | ARF affiliates took arms to defend their neighbourhoods | |
| 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 | |
| Other | ||||
| Japanese Red Army | 40 | 1971–2001 | The JRA had close ties with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and Wadie Haddad. | |
| 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 and state funder of leftist militias | |
| South Yemen | 1000 | 1976-1977 | Part of the Arab Deterrent Force | |
| Syria | 35000 | 1976-1991 | Invaded Lebanon in 1976 | |