This is a timeline of incidents in 1983 that have been labelled as "terrorism" and are not believed to have been carried out by a government or its forces (see state terrorism and state-sponsored terrorism).
| Date | Type | data-sort-type="number" | Dead | data-sort-type="number" | Injured | Location | Details | Perpetrator | Part of |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13–14 January | Shooting | 2 (+4) | 3 | Cauca, Colombia | Guerrillas of the 6 front of the FARC, attack the town of Toribio. 1 policeman, 1 councilor and 4 rebels die.[1] | FARC Militants | Colombian conflict | ||
| 27 January | Shooting | 1 | 0 | Talcahuano, Chile | During a robbery in an IKEA store a clerk was shot dead. | Revolutionary Left Movement | Armed resistance in Chile (1973–90) | ||
| 4 February | Ambush | 11 | Unknown | Caqueta, Colombia | Ambush of the FARC on an army convoy on the road between the departments of Huila and Caquetá, in the village of La Ruidosa in the environs of Florencia. An officer, two non-commissioned officers and nine soldiers died. | FARC militants | Colombian conflict | ||
| 18 February | Mass Murder | 2,191 | Unknown | Assam, India | A massacre claimed the lives of 2,191 people (unofficial figures run at more than 10,000) from 14 villages—Alisingha, Khulapathar, Basundhari, Bugduba Beel, Bugduba Habi, Borjola, Butuni, Indurmari, Mati Parbat, Muladhari, Mati Parbat no. 8, Silbheta, Borburi and Nellie—of Nagaon district. | Assam mobs | Assam Movement | ||
| 4 March | Shooting | 1 | 0 | Santiago, Chile | During a raid in a supposed MIR Warehouse for weapons a policeman was shot dead. | Revolutionary Left Movement | Armed resistance in Chile (1973–90) | ||
| 9 March | Assassination | 2 | Belgrade, Yugoslavia | Galip Balkar, Turkish ambassador to Yugoslavia, was shot and died two days later. Responsibility was taken by the Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide (JCAG), an Armenian militant group. | Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide | ||||
| 24 March | Bombing | 0 | 0 | Valdivia, Chile | Bombs went off in two different banks. | Revolutionary Left Movement | Armed resistance in Chile (1973–1990) | ||
| 29 March | Bombing | 1 | 0 | Santiago, Chile | A bomb explodes in a street, killing one civilian. | Revolutionary Left Movement | Armed resistance in Chile (1973–90) | ||
| 3 April | Massacre | 69 | 3 | Lucanamarca, Peru | Members of the Shining Path massacre 69 peasants. Most of the victims were hacked with axes and machetes though some were shot. | Shining Path | Internal conflict in Peru | ||
| 14 April | Bombing, Sabotage | 0 | 0 | Valparaiso, Chile | A charge of dynamite explodes in a railway. | Revolutionary Left Movement | Armed resistance in Chile (1973–1990) | ||
| 18 April | Suicide bombing | 63 (+1 attacker) | 120 | Beirut, Lebanon | 1983 United States Embassy bombing. A suicide car bomber stole a van carrying 2,000 pounds of explosives and slammed into the U.S. Embassy killing 63 people including 18 Americans.[2] | Islamic Jihad Organization | Lebanese civil war | ||
| 19 April | Shooting | 2 | 0 | Santiago, Chile | After a bank robbery, MIR militants clashed with two police man killing both. | Revolutionary Left Movement | Armed resistance in Chile (1973–1990) | ||
| April 20 | Ambush | 2 | 0 | Santiago, Chile | During a barricade in a working class neighborhood a police patrol was ambushed by MIR militants killing two policeman. | Revolutionary Left Movement | Armed resistance in Chile (1973–1990) | ||
| 27 April | Ambush | 9 | 4 | Santander Department, Colombia | In the village of San Fernando del Magdalena Medio Santandereano, guerrillas from the IV front of the FARC massacre 5 peasants accused of collaborating with paramilitaries.[3] | FARC militants | Colombian conflict | ||
| 9 May | Attack | 7 | Unknown | Caqueta, Colombia | About 100 guerrillas of the M-19 attack the town of El Paujil. The next day, a reinforcing column is attacked and 7 soldiers die.[4] | M-19 | Colombian conflict | ||
| 18 May | Attack | 5 (+4) | Unknown | Antioquia Department, Colombia | 100 FARC guerrillas enter the municipality of El Bagre. Three policemen, two civilians and four guerrillas die.[5] | FARC militants | Colombian conflict | ||
| 20 May | Car bombing | 19 | 217 | Pretoria, South Africa | Umkhonto we Sizwe, the military wing of the African National Congress bombs the headquarters of the South African Air Force. | Umkhonto we Sizwe | Internal resistance to apartheid | ||
| 3 June | Shooting | 5 (+1) | 14 | Eppstein, West Germany | 34-year-old Czech refugee Karel Charva fatally shot three students, a teacher and a police officer, and injured another 14 people using two semi-automatic pistols before committing suicide. | Lone Wolf | Terrorism in Germany | ||
| 13 June | Bombing, Sabotage | 0 | 0 | Santiago and Rancagua, Chile | High powered explosive devices exploded in various power pylons, causing a massive blackout. | Revolutionary Left Movement | Armed resistance in Chile (1973–1990) | ||
| 22 June | Bombing, Sabotage | 0 | 0 | Valparaiso, Chile | An Electric tower was bombed by extremists. | Revolutionary Left Movement | Armed resistance in Chile (1973–1990) | ||
| 27 June | Bombing | 0 | 0 | Santiago, Chile | An empty subway cabin was bombed by far-left extremists. | Revolutionary Left Movement | Armed resistance in Chile (1973–1990) | ||
| 15 July | Bombing | 8 | 55 | Paris, France | Members of the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia bomb the Turkish Airlines check-in counter at Orly Airport. | ASALA | |||
| 14 July | Assassination | 1 | 0 | Brussels, Belgium | Turkish diplomat Dursun Aksoy by an unknown member of the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia and Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide. | ASALA JCAG | |||
| 23 July | Ambush | 13 | 2 | Jaffna, Sri Lanka | 13 government soldiers are killed in an LTTE ambush.[6] This incident sparked the Black July riots in country and is considered to be the start of the Sri Lankan Civil War.[7] | LTTE | Sri Lankan Civil War | ||
| 27 July | Shooting, suicide bombing | 2 (+5 attackers) | 2 | Lisbon, Portugal | Five militants belonging to the Armenian Revolutionary Army attack the Turkish embassy, killing the wife of a diplomat and a Portuguese police officer before killing themselves with a bomb. | Armenian Revolutionary Army | |||
| 30 July | Bombing, Sabotage | 0 | 0 | Santiago, Chile | A power line and a train station were bombed causing no casualties. | Revolutionary Left Movement | Armed resistance in Chile (1973–1990) | ||
| 4–12 August | Massacre | 20 | 0 | Antioquia Department, Colombia | Massacre in the villages of Cañaveral and Altos de Manila in the municipality of Remedios: 20 peasants are killed by a mixed patrol of soldiers and civilians in the service of Fidel Castaño Gil.[8] | Fidel Castaño Gil´s Paramilitaries | Colombian conflict | ||
| 6–15 August | Shooting, Raid | 1 (+18) | Unknown | Cimitarra, Colombia | Offensive of the Army against the IV Front of the Farc, in the sector of the Corcovada in Santander Department. 18 guerrillas and 1 petty officer killed.[9] | FARC Militants | Colombian conflict | ||
| 8 August | Riots, Arson | 0 | 0 | Santiago, Chile | During a nationwide strike against the dictatorship, up to 7 public buses were burned or bombed. | Revolutionary Left Movement | Armed resistance in Chile (1973–1990) | ||
| 30 August | 3 | 0 | Santiago de Chile, Chile | At least three members of the Chilean army were killed in an ambush by members of the revolutionary left-wing movement.[10] [11] | Revolutionary Left Movement | Armed resistance in Chile (1973–90) | |||
| 1 September | Bombing | 0 | 0 | Santiago, Chile | Three bombs exploded in three banks | United Popular Action Movement | Armed resistance in Chile (1973–1990) | ||
| 11 September | Shooting | 1 | 0 | Santiago, Chile | A policeman guarding the house of a minister was shot dead by extremists. | Revolutionary Left Movement | Armed resistance in Chile (1973–90) | ||
| 15 September | Bombing | 1 | 5 | Viña Del Mar, Valparaiso and Santiago, Chile | Two bombs exploded in police headquarters causing 4 injuries in Viña del Mar and 1 injury in Valparaiso. In Santiago a bomb exploded in a Pinochetist radio killing one person. | Revolutionary Left Movement | Armed resistance in Chile (1973–1990) | ||
| 23 September | Bombing | 112 | 0 | Near Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates | Gulf Air Flight 771, a flight from Karachi, Pakistan to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates is destroyed by a bomb, killing everyone on board. The bomb was likely planted by the Abu Nidal Organization in an attempt to extort money from Saudi Arabia. | Abu Nidal Organization | Israeli–Palestinian conflict | ||
| 9 October | Bombing, attempted assassination | 21 | 46 | Rangoon, Burma | A bomb targeting a visit by South Korean president Chun Doo-hwan explodes and kills 21 people, though Chun escaped injury as his car had been delayed. North Korea was found to have coordinated the attack. | North Korea | Korean conflict | ||
| 13 October | Shooting, Ambush | 1 | 0 | Santiago, Chile | A policeman was ambushed, killed and his gun abducted by extremists. | Revolutionary Left Movement | Armed resistance in Chile (1973–1990) | ||
| 23 October | Suicide bombings | 305 (+2 attackers) | 75 | Beirut, Lebanon | Marine Barracks Bombing. A suicide car bomber in a truck carrying 2500 pounds of explosives crashed through the gates of a US Marine barracks killing 241 American servicemen and wounding 81. 58 French troops from the multinational force are also killed in a separate attack.[12] | Islamic Jihad Organization | Lebanese Civil War | ||
| 4 November | Suicide bombing | 60 | 40 | Tyre, Lebanon | Tyre headquarters bombings | Hezbollah | Lebanese Civil War | ||
| 6 November | Assassination | 1 | 0 | Santiago, Chile | Officer Hector Fuentealva, radio operator of the Intelligence Department of the Carabineros was shot dead | Revolutionary Left Movement | Armed resistance in Chile (1973–1990) | ||
| 7 November | Bombing | 0 | 0 | Washington, D.C., United States | The "Resistance Conspiracy" faction of the May 19th Communist Organization detonate a bomb in the United States Capitol, though no one is injured. | May 19th Communist Organization | |||
| 14 November | Bombing, Sabotage | 0 | 0 | Santiago, Chile | Two bombs detonated in two power towers. | Revolutionary Left Movement | Armed resistance in Chile (1973–1990) | ||
| 17 November | Bombing, Sabotage | 0 | 0 | Santiago, Chile | A railway line was bombed by MIR militants. | Revolutionary Left Movement | Armed resistance in Chile (1973–1990) | ||
| 18–19 November | Hijacking. | 5 (+3 attackers) | Several | Tbilisi, USSR | 7 Georgians hijack Aeroflot Flight 6833 in hopes of escaping the Soviet Union. The siege ended with Soviet forces storming the plane and resulting in the deaths of 3 passengers, 2 crew members and 3 hijackers. The remaining hijackers were executed. | 7 Georgians | |||
| 20 November | Shooting | 3 | 7 | Northern Ireland, United Kingdom | Gunmen opened fire on a Protestant church service in Darkley, County Armagh, killing 3 churchmen and injuring several more. The attack was claimed by the "Catholic Reaction Force", however, one of the gunmen was a member of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) and INLA weapons were used. | Irish National Liberation Army | The Troubles | ||
| 8 December | Torture murder | 1 | 0 | Sakhnin, Israel | Israeli teenager Danny Katz is kidnapped, raped, tortured and murdered by 5 Palestinian militants. | 5 Palestinians | Israeli–Palestinian conflict | ||
| 10 December | Bombing | 0 | 5 | London, United Kingdom | Provisional IRA bombing targeting the Royal Artillery Barracks. | Provisional IRA | The Troubles | ||
| 12 December | Suicide bombings | 6 | 86 | Kuwait City, Kuwait | A series of bombings target the American and French embassies, Kuwait International Airport, the main oil refinery, an electricity control center and building housing American employees of Raytheon. The bombings caused extensive damage, but relatively few casualties as many of the bombs failed to properly detonate. Had all the bombings succeeded, the attacks would have been among the worst terror attacks in history. The perpetrators have never been identified but are believed to be connected to Iran and committed the bombings due to America's, France's and Kuwait's support of Iraq in the Iran–Iraq War. | Unknown | Iran–Iraq War | ||
| 12–15 December | Bombing, Sabotage and Arson | 0 | 0 | Santiago and Valparaiso, Chile | A massive campaign of 4 bombings of power lines in Santiago leave the entire city in a blackout. With this came the burning of two public buses and the bombing of a railway of the CODELCO copper firm. | Revolutionary Left Movement | Armed resistance in Chile (1973–1990) | ||
| 17 December | Car bombing | 6 | 90 | London, United Kingdom | The Provisional IRA detonate a time bomb at the Harrods department store, killing 3 civilians and 3 police officers. | Provisional IRA | The Troubles | ||
| 23 December | Shooting | 2 | 0 | Santiago, Chile | In separate bank robberies two police officers were killed by extremists. | Revolutionary Left Movement | Armed resistance in Chile (1973–1990) | ||
| 28 December | Shooting | 1 | 0 | Santiago, Chile | In incidents with protestors a policeman was killed by snipers. | Revolutionary Left Movement | Armed resistance in Chile (1973–1990) |