Conflict catalog

2016 Colombian FARC Dissident Conflict: Weapons and Equipment

Post-2016 armed conflict between Colombian state forces and FARC dissident formations that rejected or later broke from the peace process.

This catalog tracks weapon systems directly documented in Colombian government operations against FARC dissident groups after the 2016 peace accord.

Entries require source-backed system identification and conflict-use context rather than broad Colombian background claims.

13 weapon systems

Colombian government

2 weapon systems in this catalog

Colombian government

FARC dissident groups

11 weapon systems in this catalog

FARC dissident groups

Context

Status: Published catalog

MO-120 RT, 120 mm rifled towed heavy mortar, Artillery

ArtilleryMO-120 RT120 mm rifled towed heavy mortarSide: Colombian governmentRole: Infantry fire supportBuilt: Brandt / TDA Armements / Thales / General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems / MKE, Sarsilmaz, Kalekalip / France / United States / TurkeyThe MO-120 RT is a French 120 mm rifled towed heavy mortar developed by Brandt and later associated with TDA/Thales production. Its rifled barrel, two-wheel carriage, and rocket-assisted ammunition option give it longer range than many smoothbore infantry mortars, while keeping the system towable by light or medium vehicles. The family also appears through derivatives such as the U.S. Marine Corps M327 EFSS and Turkey's HY-12, giving the page conflict evidence from Ukraine, Mali, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Colombia.

Mortars, Infantry and artillery mortar class, Artillery

ArtilleryMortarsInfantry and artillery mortar classSide: FARC dissident groupsRole: Improvised indirect fire against eradication and security forcesBuilt: Various manufacturers / Multiple countriesMortars are short-barreled, high-angle indirect-fire weapons used by infantry, artillery units, and armed groups for close support, harassment, and attacks on positions behind cover. The catalog entry treats mortars as a broad weapon class because the direct conflict sources usually document mortar use without identifying exact calibers or models, including Philippine government support fires at Marawi, Hezbollah fire at Mount Dov, jihadist attacks in Mali and Sinai, FARC dissident improvised mortars in Colombia, 2023 Sudan War battlefield use, and Cambodia-accused cross-border fire.

AR-15-pattern rifle, 5.56 mm self-loading rifle platform, Infantry Weapons

Infantry WeaponsAR-15-pattern rifle5.56 mm self-loading rifle platformSide: FARC dissident groupsRole: Recovered dissident rifle armamentBuilt: ArmaLite / Colt / Various manufacturers / United States and multiple countriesThe AR-15-pattern rifle is a lightweight, modular self-loading rifle family derived from the ArmaLite and Colt AR-15 lineage. Cataloged conflict evidence ranges from AR-type rifles captured from IS-aligned fighters in Marawi to U.S. and Ukrainian AR-style rifles supplied or fielded during the Russia-Ukraine War.

M60 general-purpose machine gun, 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, Infantry Weapons

Infantry WeaponsM60 general-purpose machine gun7.62 mm general-purpose machine gunSide: FARC dissident groupsRole: Dissident-held infantry fire supportBuilt: Saco Defense / Maremont / U.S. Ordnance / United StatesThe M60 is a U.S.-origin 7.62x51 mm NATO belt-fed general-purpose machine gun built for ground, tripod, vehicle, and aircraft-mounted fire support. U.S. records document M60 use from Vietnam through Iraq and Afghanistan, while later conflict reporting shows legacy guns turning up with non-state armed groups in Nigeria, Colombia, and Haiti.

M16 rifle, Assault rifle, Infantry Weapons

Infantry WeaponsM16 rifleAssault rifleSide: FARC dissident groupsRole: Small-unit infantry rifleBuilt: Colt / United StatesThe M16 is a U.S.-origin 5.56x45mm assault-rifle family that evolved from 1955 Vietnam War service into the M16A1, M16A2 and M16A4 lineage. Current Army and FN references describe the M16A4 as a gas-operated, shoulder-fired, 20-inch-barrel rifle with rail and optics compatibility, while conflict-specific sources document continued use from Marawi and Afghanistan to Israeli wartime response teams, Iraqi partner-force training and Colombian FARC dissident seizures.

Machine gun, Automatic small arm / crew-served firearm, Infantry Weapons

Infantry WeaponsMachine gunAutomatic small arm / crew-served firearmSide: FARC dissident groupsRole: Arms-cache automatic fire weaponBuilt: Various manufacturers / Multiple countriesMachine guns are automatic small arms built for sustained rapid fire, with roles spanning light squad automatic weapons, medium or general-purpose guns, and heavy crew-served weapons. This broad catalog entry tracks source-backed machine-gun use, possession, or capture in recent conflicts while treating model-specific facts such as M60, Type 80/PKM-T80, M240, and M2 details as examples rather than universal traits.

Fragmentation hand grenade, Fragmentation hand grenade, Infantry Weapons

Infantry WeaponsFragmentation hand grenadeFragmentation hand grenadeSide: FARC dissident groupsRole: Close-range assault on police positionsBuilt: Various manufacturers / Multiple countriesFragmentation hand grenades are short-delay anti-personnel explosives built to scatter high-velocity fragments across close range. The U.S. M67 provides a modern benchmark for the class, while documented conflict use ranges from Hamas shelter assaults and Philippine urban clearing at Marawi to F1-type grenade payloads dropped from Mavic-style drones in the Russia-Ukraine War.

Handgun/pistol, Handheld small arm / sidearm, Infantry Weapons

Infantry WeaponsHandgun/pistolHandheld small arm / sidearmSide: FARC dissident groupsRole: Captured sidearm materielBuilt: Various manufacturers / Multiple countriesHandguns and pistols are compact small arms designed for one-handed or close-range use, including semi-automatic pistols fed from magazines and revolvers fed from rotating cylinders. Conflict sources sometimes identify only model-unspecified pistols or handguns, including FARC dissident seizures in Colombia, gang arsenals in Haiti, and handgun use by warring forces in Sudan.

AK-47/AKM rifle family, Selective-fire assault rifle family, Infantry Weapons

Infantry WeaponsAK-47/AKM rifle familySelective-fire assault rifle familySide: FARC dissident groupsRole: Guerrilla small-arms fireBuilt: Various manufacturers / Soviet Union / Russia / China / multiple countriesAK-47/AKM-family rifles are Kalashnikov-pattern small arms derived from the Soviet AK-47 and 1959 AKM modernization, usually chambered in 7.62 x 39 mm. In the post-2015 catalog they appear with FARC dissidents in Colombia, gangs in Haiti, PKK fighters, GNA scouts in Libya, insurgents in Mali, Islamic State forces in Iraq and Syria, militants in Sinai, RSF units in Sudan, Hamas fighters in Gaza, Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, Boko Haram-linked militants in the Lake Chad basin, and Houthi-linked supply chains in Yemen.

Galil assault rifle, Selective-fire assault rifle family, Infantry Weapons

Infantry WeaponsGalil assault rifleSelective-fire assault rifle familySide: FARC dissident groupsRole: Small-unit infantry firepowerBuilt: Israel Military Industries / Israel Weapon Industries / IsraelThe Galil is an Israeli Kalashnikov-derived assault rifle family originally produced by Israel Military Industries and later modernized by Israel Weapon Industries as the Galil ACE line. Recent conflict reporting places Galil or Galil ACE rifles in irregular small-arms stocks from the Lake Chad Basin to FARC dissident operations in Colombia and trafficked gang arsenals in Haiti, where they appear as portable infantry weapons rather than heavy support systems.

1 remaining

Air-dropped bombs, Aircraft-delivered general-purpose bomb class, Munitions

MunitionsAir-dropped bombsAircraft-delivered general-purpose bomb classSide: Colombian governmentRole: Precision airstrike on dissident campBuilt: Various manufacturers / VariousAir-dropped bombs are aircraft-delivered explosive munitions documented here as a conflict-use class when sources identify bombing runs but not a specific model. The entry covers Philippine Air Force bombing during the 2017 Battle of Marawi and Colombian government air operations against FARC dissident bases, while separating those conflict claims from representative Mk-series bomb-body background.

Improvised explosive device, Improvised explosive device, Munitions

MunitionsImprovised explosive deviceImprovised explosive deviceSide: FARC dissident groupsRole: IED attacks and explosive ambushes against government and civilian targetsBuilt: Local fabrication by armed groups / VariousImprovised explosive devices are field-built bombs assembled from commercial, homemade, or military components and triggers. The documented family spans roadside and pressure-plate bombs, vehicle-borne suicide devices, radio-controlled charges, water-borne attack craft, booby traps, and repurposed ordnance across insurgent, terrorist, and state use cases.