Uncontrolled banditry

Banditry is robbery through direct attack or threat of attack on a traveller or isolated individual. Soviet law, for example, requires three conditions to be met before a person is considered a bandit: (a) the participation of two or more people (a band); (b) the possession of arms, even if by only one member of the band; and (c) the cohesion and organization of the participants. A crime is considered having been committed from the moment the armed band is organized, even if the band has committed no attack.

In 1993 bandits repeatedly attacked refugee camps set up for 320,000 Somalian refugees within Kenya by the UN. In 1996, humanitarian operations in Liberia were jeopardized by bandits stealing vehicles, equipment and food supplies.