Armed Conflict

Location & Event Data

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction and Brief Description 4

ACLED Data Columns at a Glance 5

ACLED Events 9
Event Types and Sub-Event Types 10
Battles 12
Government regains territory 13
Non-state actor overtakes territory 13
Armed clash 13
Protests 14
Excessive force against protesters 14
Protest with intervention 14
Peaceful protest 15
Riots 15
Violent demonstration 15
Mob violence 16
Explosions/Remote violence 16
Chemical weapon 16
Air/drone strike 17
Suicide bomb 17
Shelling/artillery/missile attack 17
Remote explosive/landmine/IED 17
Grenade 18
Violence against civilians 18
Sexual violence 19
Attack 19
Abduction/forced disappearance 19
Strategic developments 20
Agreement 20
Arrests 20
Change to group/activity 21
Disrupted weapons use 21

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Headquarters or base established 21

Looting/property destruction 21
Non-violent transfer of territory 22
Other 22

Event Aggregation 22

Civilian targeting 23

Actors 24
Actor Names, Types, and ‘Inter’ Codes 25
‘Inter’ code 1: State Forces 26
‘Inter’ code 2: Rebel Groups 27
‘Inter’ code 3: Political Militias 27
‘Inter’ code 4: Identity Militias 28
‘Inter’ code 5: Rioters 29
‘Inter’ code 6: Protesters 29
‘Inter’ code 7: Civilians 29
‘Inter’ code 8: External/Other Forces 30
Interaction Codes 30

Event Geography 36
Spatial precision codes 36

Event time 37
Time precision codes 37

Reported Fatalities 38

Notes 39

Tags 39

Sources and Information Sourcing 39

Source scale 40

Relationship to Other Datasets 41

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Introduction

ACLED collects reported information on the type, agents, location, date, and other
characteristics of political violence events, demonstration events, and other select non-
violent, politically-relevant developments in every country and territory in the world.
ACLED focuses on tracking a range of violent and non-violent actions by or affecting
political agents, including governments, rebels, militias, identity groups, political parties,
external forces, rioters, protesters, and civilians. The full list of ACLED data columns is
available in the table below.

ACLED concentrates on:

• Tracking rebel, militia, and government activity over time and space;
• Recording violent acts between and across non-state groups, including political
and identity militias;
• Recording political violence by unnamed agents, as violent groups may remain
unnamed for strategic reasons;
• Recording attacks on civilians by all violent political agents;
• Distinguishing between territorial transfers of military control from governments
(and their affiliates) to non-state agents and vice versa;
• Collecting information on rioting and protesting; and
• Tracking non-violent strategic developments representing crucial junctures
in periods of political violence (e.g. recruitment drives, peace talks, high-level
arrests).

ACLED data are derived from a wide range of local, national, and international sources
in over 75 languages. The information is collected by trained researchers worldwide. An
updated overview of ACLED’s current country and time period coverage is available here.

ACLED data are coded in real time and published on a weekly basis following a multi-stage
internal review process. Data can be downloaded through the export tool, curated data
files (which include regional data files and files for specific subsets like violence targeting
civilians), or API with a free account. Further guides to ACLED’s methodology, coding
decisions, and access system are available on the ACLED website.

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ACLED Data Columns at a Glance

Table 1: ACLED Data Columns

Column name Column description Column description

event_id_cnty A unique alphanumeric event • E.g. ETH9766

identifier by number and country
acronym. This identifier remains
constant even when the event
details are updated.

event_date The date on which the event took • E.g. 2023-02-16

place. Recorded as Year-Month-Day.

year The year in which the event took • E.g. 2018

place.

time_precision A numeric code between 1 and 3 • 1, 2, or 3; with 1

indicating the level of precision of being the most
the date recorded for the event. The precise
higher the number, the lower the
precision.

disorder_type The disorder category an event • Political violence,

belongs to. Demonstrations,
or Strategic
developments

event_type The type of event; further specifies • E.g. Battles

the nature of the event. • For the full list of ACLED
event types, see the
ACLED Event Types
table.

sub_event_type A subcategory of the event type. • E.g. Armed clash

• For the full list of ACLED
sub-event types, see
the ACLED Event Types
table.

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actor1 One of two main actors involved • E.g. Rioters (Papua

in the event (does not necessarily New Guinea)
indicate the aggressor).

assoc_actor_1 Actor(s) involved in the event • E.g. Labor Group

alongside ‘Actor 1’ or actor (Spain); Women
designations that further identify (Spain)
‘Actor 1’. • Can have multiple
actors separated by a
semicolon, or can be
blank

inter1 A text value indicating the type of • E.g. Rebel group

‘Actor 1’ (for more, see the section
Actor Names, Types, and ‘Inter’ Codes).

actor2 One of two main actors involved • E.g. Civilians (Kenya)

in the event (does not necessarily • Can be blank
indicate the target or victim).

assoc_actor_2 Actor(s) involved in the event • E.g. Labor Group

alongside ‘Actor 2’ or actor (Spain); Women
designation further identifying (Spain)
‘Actor 2’. • Can have multiple
actors separated by a
semicolon, or can be
blank

inter2 A text value indicating the type of • E.g. State forces

‘Actor 2’ (for more, see the section • Can be blank
Actor Names, Types, and ‘Inter’ Codes).

interaction A text value based on a combination • E.g. Rebel group -

of ‘Inter 1’ and ‘Inter 2’ indicating Civilians
the two actor types interacting in
the event (for more, see the section
Actor Names, Types, and ‘Inter’ Codes).

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civilian_targeting This column indicates whether the • Either ‘Civilians

event involved civilian targeting. targeted’ or blank.

iso A unique three-digit numeric code • E.g. 231 for Ethiopia

assigned to each country or territory
according to ISO 3166.

region The region of the world where the • E.g. Eastern Africa
event took place.

country The country or territory in which • E.g. Ethiopia

the event took place.

admin1 The largest sub-national • E.g. Oromia

administrative region in which the
event took place.

admin2 The second largest sub-national • E.g. Arsi

administrative region in which the • Can be blank.
event took place.

admin3 The third largest sub-national • E.g. Merti

administrative region in which the • Can be blank.
event took place.

location The name of the location at which • E.g. Abomsa

the event took place.

latitude The latitude of the location in • E.g. 8.5907

four decimal degrees notation
(EPSG:4326).

longitude The longitude of the location in • E.g. 39.8588

four decimal degrees notation
(EPSG:4326).

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geo_precision A numeric code between 1 and 3 • 1, 2, or 3; with 1

indicating the level of certainty of being the most
the location recorded for the event. precise.
The higher the number, the lower
the precision.

source The sources used to record the • E.g. Ansar Allah;

event. Separated by a semicolon. Yemen Data Project

source_ scale An indication of the geographic • E.g. Local partner-

closeness of the used sources to the National
event (for more, see the section Source
Scale).

notes A short description of the event. • E.g. On 16 February

2023, OLF-Shane
abducted an
unidentified number
of civilians after
stopping a vehicle in
an area near Abomsa
(Merti, Arsi, Oromia).
The abductees were
traveling from Adama
to Abomsa, Arsi.

fatalities The number of reported fatalities • E.g. 3

arising from an event. When there • No information on
are conflicting reports, the most fatalities is recorded as
conservative estimate is recorded. 0 reported fatalities.

tags Additional structured information • E.g. women targeted:

about the event. Separated by a politicians; sexual
semicolon. violence

timestamp An automatically generated Unix • E.g. 1676909320

timestamp that represents the
exact date and time an event was
uploaded to the ACLED API.

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ACLED Events

ACLED collects and records reported information on political violence, demonstrations

(rioting and protesting), and other select non-violent, politically important events. It aims
to capture the modes, frequency, and intensity of political violence and demonstrations.

Political violence is defined as the use of force by a group with a political purpose or
motivation, or with distinct political effects.1 A political violence event is a single altercation
where force is used by one or more groups toward a political end. A demonstration event is
an in-person public gathering of three or more people advocating for a shared cause. Other
select non-violent instances of politically significant developments are also included in the
dataset to capture the potential precursors or critical junctures of a violent conflict.

ACLED has developed a system that defines political disorder by its constituent events. It
begins with robust and broad definitions of political violence and demonstrations (more
below) and limits the taxonomy of political disorder to event types and sub-event types.
This taxonomy allows users to compare trends of political disorder across countries and
time periods. ACLED does not predefine broader aggregate categories of events, like wars,
conflicts, operations, campaigns, or movements.2 These analytical decisions are left to the
user.

ACLED allows users to filter data based on the type of event, type of actor, type of
interaction, actors, location, or time period. ACLED does not dictate nor frame aggregations
of conflict events, but allows users to determine how to define and explore frames. In this
way, the dataset is designed to provide a comprehensive overview of political disorder
around the world.

1
ACLED includes organized criminal violence as political violence when it challenges safety, security, and
territorial control within a state. For more on this, see the ACLED Gang Methodology.
2
ACLED also does not categorize clusters or campaigns of events into categories of state or non-state
operations, terrorism, insurgency, etc. This is because political violence, demonstrations, conflict, and disorder
are aggregations of multiple actors, attacks, goals, etc. Classifying events into parts of a civil war, livelihood,
religious, or election conflict (to name a few common versions) is often a reductive choice, leaving out the
complex ways conflict creates multiple scales of violence and intended outcomes within a territory.

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Event Types and Sub-Event Types

The fundamental unit of observation in ACLED is the event. Events involve designated actors
– e.g. a named rebel group, a militia, or state forces.3 They occur at a specific named location
(identified by name and geographic coordinates) and on a specific day. Researchers work
to ensure that the most specific possible location and time are recorded. ACLED currently
records six event types and 25 sub-event types, both violent and non-violent. Sub-event
types are also categorized by three overarching disorder types to facilitate analysis: 1)
‘Political violence’, ‘Demonstrations’, and ‘Strategic developments’. Table 2 displays ACLED
event types, sub-event types, and disorder types.

Both event types and sub-event types are hierarchical to accommodate concurrent
tactics within the same event, to avoid double-counting (for more, see the section Event
Aggregation). This means that an airstrike (individually recorded as an ‘Explosions/Remote
violence’ event) occurring within the same context as a ground battle would be recorded
as one ‘Battles’ event. Likewise, an attack on a civilian (individually recorded as a ‘Violence
against civilians’ event) occurring within the same context as a remote explosive detonation
(individually recorded as an ‘Explosions/Remote violence’ event) would be recorded as one
‘Explosions/Remote violence’ event. A similar structure holds for sub-event types. Ground
shelling occurring simultaneously as an airstrike would be recorded as an ‘Air/drone strike’
event, as it is higher on the hierarchy than the ‘Shelling/artillery/missile attack’ sub-event
type. Likewise, a civilian abducted and then killed would be recorded with the ‘Attack’ sub-
event type because it is higher on the hierarchy than the ‘Abduction/forced disappearance’
sub-event type. The event types and sub-event types noted in Table 2 below are presented
in hierarchical order. It is important to keep these distinctions in mind when interpreting
and drawing conclusions from the data.

3
With the sole exception of Unidentified Armed Group and generic categories including Rioters, Protesters,
and Civilians.

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Table 2: ACLED Event Types

Event type Sub-event type Disorder type
Government regains territory
Battles Non-state actor overtakes territory Political violence
Armed clash
Political violence;
Excessive force against protesters
Demonstrations
Protests
Protest with intervention
Peaceful protest Demonstrations

Riots Violent demonstration

Mob violence
Chemical weapon
Air/drone strike
Explosions/ Suicide bomb
Remote violence
Shelling/artillery/missile attack
Political violence
Remote explosive/landmine/IED
Grenade
Sexual violence
Violence against
civilians Attack
Abduction/forced disappearance
Agreement
Arrests
Change to group/activity
Strategic Disrupted weapons use Strategic
developments Headquarters or base established developments

Looting/property destruction
Non-violent transfer of territory
Other

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Battles

ACLED defines a ‘Battles’ event as a violent interaction between two organized armed
groups at a particular time and location. ‘Battles’ can occur between armed and organized
state, non-state, and external groups, and in any combination therein. There is no fatality
minimum necessary for inclusion. Civilians can be harmed in the course of larger ‘Battles’
events if they are caught in the crossfire, for example, or affected by strikes on military
targets, which is commonly referred to as ‘collateral damage’ (for more, see Indirect Killing
of Civilians). When civilians are harmed in a ‘Battles’ event, they are not recorded as an
‘Associated Actor’, the event is not marked in the ‘Civilian targeting’ column (for more, see
Civilian targeting), nor is a separate civilian-specific event recorded. If any civilian fatalities
are reported as part of a battle, they are aggregated in the ‘Fatalities’ column for the ‘Battles’
event, and they are described in the ‘Notes’ column.

The specific elements of the definition of a ‘Battles’ event are as follows:

1. Violent interaction: the exchange of armed force, or the use of armed force
at close distance, between armed groups capable of inflicting harm upon the
opposing side.
2. Organized armed groups: collective actors assumed to be operating cohesively
around an agenda, identity, or political purpose, using weapons to inflict harm.
These groups frequently have a designated name and stated agenda.

The ‘Battles’ event type may include: ground clashes between different armed groups,
ground clashes between armed groups supported by artillery fire or airstrikes, ambushes
of on-duty soldiers or armed militants, exchanges of artillery fire, ground attacks against
military or militant positions, air attacks where ground forces are able to effectively fire on
the aircraft, and air-to-air combat.

The following sub-event types are categorized under the ‘Battles’ event type and are
designated according to whether the battle does or does not result in a territorial exchange:
‘Armed clash’, ‘Government regains territory’, and ‘Non-state actor overtakes territory’.

Cases where territory is regained or overtaken without resistance or armed interaction

are not recorded as ‘Battles’ events. Instead, they are recorded as ‘Non-violent transfer of
territory’ under the ‘Strategic developments’ event type (more below).

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Government regains territory

This sub-event type is used when government forces or their affiliates that are
fighting against competing state forces or against a non-state group regain control of
a location through armed interaction. This sub-event type is only recorded for the re-
establishment of government control and not for cases where competing non-state
actors exchange control. Short-lived and/or small-scale territorial exchanges that do
not last for more than one day are recorded as ‘Armed clash’.

Non-state actor overtakes territory

This sub-event type is used when a non-state actor (excluding those operating directly
on behalf of the government) or a foreign state actor, through armed interaction,
captures territory from an opposing government or non-state actor; as a result, they
are regarded as having a monopoly of force within that territory. Short-lived and/or
small-scale territorial exchanges that do not last for more than one day are recorded
as ‘Armed clash’ events. In cases where non-state forces fight with opposing actors in
a location many times before gaining control, only the final territorial acquisition is
recorded as ‘Non-state actor overtakes territory’. All other battles in that location are
recorded as ‘Armed clash’.

Armed clash

This sub-event type is used when armed, organized groups engage in a battle, and no
reports indicate a significant change in territorial control (as described above).

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Protests

A ‘Protests’ event is defined as an in-person public demonstration of three or more

participants in which the participants do not engage in violence, though violence may be
used against them. Events include individuals and groups who peacefully demonstrate
against a political entity, government institution, policy, group, tradition, business, or other
private institution. The following are not recorded as ‘Protests’ events: symbolic public acts
such as displays of flags or public prayers (unless they are accompanied by a demonstration);
legislative protests, such as parliamentary walkouts or members of parliaments staying
silent; strikes (unless they are accompanied by a demonstration); and individual acts such
as self-harm actions like individual immolations or hunger strikes.

Protesters are noted by generic actor names: Protesters (Country). If they are representing
a group, the name of that group is recorded in the corresponding ‘Associated Actor’ column.

The following sub-event types are associated with the ‘Protests’ event type: ‘Peaceful
protest’, ‘Protest with intervention’, and ‘Excessive force against protesters’.

Excessive force against protesters

This sub-event type is used when individuals are engaged in a peaceful protest and
are targeted with lethal violence or violence resulting in serious injuries (e.g. requiring
hospitalization). This includes situations where remote explosives, such as improvised
explosive devices, are used to target protesters, as well as situations where non-state
actors, such as rebel groups, target protesters.

Protest with intervention

This sub-event type is used when individuals are engaged in a peaceful protest during
which there is a physical attempt to disperse or suppress the protest without serious/
lethal injuries or the targeting of protesters with lethal weapons reported. This sub-
event type also covers any instance where armed groups or rioters interact with
peaceful protesters without resulting in serious/lethal injuries, as well as cases where
protesters are arrested.4

4
Dispersal orders or citations, in the absence of reports of physical action to detain or remove
protesters, are not captured under this sub-event type; if protesters are only issued citations, the
event would be coded as a ‘Peaceful protest’.

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Peaceful protest

This sub-event type is used when demonstrators gather for a protest and do not
engage in violence or other forms of rioting activity, such as property destruction,
and are not met with any sort of force or intervention.

Riots

‘Riots’ are violent events where demonstrators or mobs of three or more engage in violent
or destructive acts, including but not limited to physical fights, rock throwing, property
destruction, etc. They may engage individuals, property, businesses, other rioting groups,
or armed actors. Rioters are noted by generic actor names: Rioters (Country). If rioters are
affiliated with a specific group – which may or may not be armed – or identity group, that
group is recorded in the respective ‘Associated Actor’ column. Riots may begin as peaceful
protests, or a mob may have the intention to engage in violence from the outset. ‘Riots’
events where civilians are the main or only target will be tagged with “Civilians targeted” in
the ‘Civilian targeting’ column.

The following sub-event types are associated with the ‘Riots’ event type: ‘Violent
demonstration’ and ‘Mob violence’.

Violent demonstration

This sub-event type is used when demonstrators engage in violence and/or destructive
activity. Examples include physical clashes with other demonstrators or government
forces; vandalism; and road-blocking using barricades, burning tires, or other material.
The coding of an event as a ‘Violent demonstration’ does not necessarily indicate
that demonstrators initiated the violence and/or destructive actions, nor does the
order of the actors coded necessarily indicate which side of a two- or multi-sided
counter-demonstration initiated the violence and/or destructive activity.

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Mob violence

This sub-event type is used when rioters violently interact with other rioters,
civilians or their property, or armed groups outside of demonstration contexts. A
mob is considered a crowd of people that is disorderly and has the intention to cause
harm or disruption through violence or property destruction. Note that this type
of violence can also include spontaneous vigilante mobs clashing with other armed
groups or attacking civilians. While a ‘Mob violence’ event often involves unarmed or
crudely armed rioters, on rare occasions, it can involve violence by people associated
with organized groups and/or using more sophisticated weapons, such as firearms.

Explosions/Remote violence

ACLED defines ‘Explosions/Remote violence’ events as incidents in which one side uses
weapon types that, by their nature, are at range and widely destructive. The weapons
used in ‘Explosions/Remote violence’ events are explosive devices, including but not
limited to: bombs, grenades, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), artillery fire or shelling,
missile attacks, air or drone strikes, and other widely destructive heavy weapons or
chemical weapons. Suicide attacks using explosives also fall under this category. When
an ‘Explosions/Remote violence’ event is reported in the context of an ongoing battle, it
is merged and recorded as a single ‘Battles’ event. ‘Explosions/Remote violence’ can be
used against armed agents as well as civilians. ‘Explosions/Remote violence’ events where
civilians are the main or only target will be tagged with “Civilians targeted” in the ‘Civilian
targeting’ column.

The following sub-event types are associated with the ‘Explosions/Remote violence’ event
type: ‘Chemical weapon’, ‘Air/drone strike’, ‘Suicide bomb’, ‘Shelling/artillery/missile attack’,
‘Remote explosive/landmine/IED’, and ‘Grenade’.

Chemical weapon

This sub-event type captures the use of chemical weapons in warfare in the absence
of any other engagement. ACLED considers chemical weapons as all substances listed
as Schedule 1 of the Chemical Weapons Convention, including sarin gas, mustard
gas, chlorine gas, and anthrax. Napalm and white phosphorus, as well as less-lethal
crowd control substances – such as tear gas – are not considered chemical weapons
within this sub-event type.

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Air/drone strike

This sub-event type is used when air or drone strikes take place in the absence of
any other engagement. Please note that any air-to-ground attacks fall under this
sub-event type, including attacks by helicopters that do not involve exchanges of fire
with forces on the ground.

Suicide bomb

This sub-event type is used when a suicide bombing occurs in the absence of an
armed clash, such as an exchange of small arms fire with other armed groups. It also
includes suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (SVBIED) attacks. Note
that the suicide bomber is included in the total number of reported fatalities coded
for such events.

Shelling/artillery/missile attack

This sub-event type captures the use of long-range artillery, missile systems, or other
heavy weapons platforms in the absence of any other engagement. When two armed
groups exchange long-range fire, it is recorded as an ‘Armed clash’. ‘Shelling/artillery/
missile attack’ events include attacks described as shelling, the use of artillery and
cannons, mortars, guided missiles, rockets, grenade launchers, and other heavy
weapons platforms. Crewed aircraft shot down by long-range systems fall under this
sub-event type. Uncrewed armed drones that are shot down, however, are recorded
as interceptions under ‘Disrupted weapons use’ because people are not targeted (see
below). Similarly, an interception of a missile strike itself (such as by the Iron Dome in
Israel) is also recorded as ‘Disrupted weapons use’.

Remote explosive/landmine/IED

This sub-event type is used when remotely- or victim-activated devices are detonated
in the absence of any other engagement. Examples include landmines, IEDs – whether
alone or attached to a vehicle, or any other sort of remotely detonated or triggered
explosive. Unexploded ordnances (UXO) also fall under this category.

SVBIEDs are recorded as ‘Suicide bomb’ events (see above), while the safe defusal of
an explosive or its accidental detonation by the actor who planted it (with no other
casualties reported) is recorded under ‘Disrupted weapons use’ (see below).

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Grenade

This sub-event type captures the use of a grenade or any other similarly hand-thrown
explosive, such as an IED that is thrown, in the absence of any other engagement.
Events involving so-called ‘crude bombs’ (such as Molotov cocktails, firecrackers,
cherry bombs, petrol bombs, etc.) as well as ‘stun grenades’ are not recorded in this
category, but are included under either ‘Riots’ or ‘Strategic developments’ depending
on the context in which they occurred.

Violence against civilians

ACLED defines ‘Violence against civilians’ as violent events where an organized armed
group inflicts violence upon unarmed non-combatants. By definition, civilians are unarmed
and cannot engage in political violence. Therefore, the violence is understood to be
asymmetric as the perpetrator is assumed to be the only actor capable of using violence
in the event. The perpetrators of such acts include state forces and their affiliates, rebels,
militias, and external/other forces.

In cases where the identity and actions of the targets are in question (e.g. the target may
be employed as a police officer), ACLED determines that if a person is harmed or killed
while unarmed and unable to either act defensively or counter-attack, this is an act of
‘Violence against civilians’. This includes extrajudicial killings of detained combatants or
unarmed prisoners of war.

‘Violence against civilians’ also includes attempts at inflicting harm (e.g. beating, shooting,
torture, rape, mutilation, etc.) or forcibly disappearing (e.g. kidnapping and disappearances)
civilian actors. Note that the ‘Violence against civilians’ event type exclusively captures
violence targeting civilians that does not occur concurrently with other forms of violence –
such as rioting – that are coded higher in the ACLED event type hierarchy. To get a full list of
events in the ACLED dataset where civilians were the main or only target of violence, users
can filter on the ‘Civilian targeting’ column (for more, see Civilian targeting).

The following sub-event types are associated with the ‘Violence against civilians’ event
type: ‘Sexual violence’, ‘Attack’, and ‘Abduction/forced disappearance’.

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Sexual violence

This sub-event type is used when any individual is targeted with sexual violence.
‘Sexual violence’ is defined largely as an action that inflicts harm of a sexual nature.
This means that it is not limited to solely penetrative rape, but also includes actions
like public stripping, sexual torture, etc. Given the gendered nature of sexual violence,
the gender identities of the victims – i.e. Women (Country), Men (Country), and
LGBTQ+ (Country), or a combination thereof – are recorded in the ‘Associated Actor’
column for these events when reported. Note that it is possible for sexual violence
to occur within other event types such as ‘Battles’ and ‘Riots’ (for more, see Sexual
Violence in the ACLED Dataset).

Attack

This sub-event type is used when civilians are targeted with violence by an organized
armed actor outside the context of other forms of violence coded higher in the ACLED
event type hierarchy. Attacks of a sexual nature are recorded as ‘Sexual violence’ (see
above). Violence by law enforcement that constitutes severe government overreach
is also recorded as an ‘Attack’ event.

Abduction/forced disappearance

This sub-event type is used when an actor engages in the abduction or forced
disappearance of civilians, without reports of further violence. If fatalities or serious
injuries are reported during the abduction or forced disappearance, the event is
recorded as an ‘Attack’ event instead. If such violence is reported in later periods
during captivity, this is recorded as an additional ‘Attack’ event. Note that multiple
people can be abducted in a single ‘Abduction/forced disappearance’ event.

Arrests by non-state groups and extrajudicial detentions by state forces are

considered ‘Abduction/forced disappearance’. Arrests conducted by state forces
within the standard judicial process are, however, considered ‘Arrests’ (see below).5

5
In rare cases where non-state groups are able to maintain some level of judicial/penal system, they are also
considered able to engage in ‘Arrests’, and these actions are not recorded as ‘Abduction/forced disappearance’
and are instead recorded under the ‘Arrests’ sub-event type.

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Strategic developments

This event type captures contextually important information regarding incidents and
activities of groups that are not recorded as ‘Political violence’ or ‘Demonstrations’ events,
yet may trigger future events or contribute to political dynamics within and across states.
The inclusion of such events is limited, as their purpose is to capture pivotal events within
the broader political landscape. They typically include a disparate range of events, such as
recruitment drives, looting, and incursions, as well as the location and date of peace talks
and the arrests of high-ranking officials or large groups. While it is rare for fatalities to be
reported as a result of such events, they can occur in certain cases – e.g. the suspicious
death of a high-ranking official, the accidental detonation of a bomb resulting in the bomber
being killed, etc.

Due to their context-specific nature, ‘Strategic developments’ are not collected and recorded
in the same cross-comparable fashion as ‘Political violence’ and ‘Demonstration’ events. As such,
the ‘Strategic developments’ event type is primarily a tool for understanding particular
contexts (see this primer on using ‘Strategic developments’).

The following sub-event types are associated with the ‘Strategic developments’ event type:
‘Agreement’, ‘Arrests’, ‘Change to group/activity’, ‘Disrupted weapons use’, ‘Headquarters
or base established’, ‘Looting/property destruction’, ‘Non-violent transfer of territory’, and
‘Other’.

Agreement

This sub-event type is used to record any sort of agreement between different actors
(such as governments and rebel groups). Examples include peace agreements/talks,
ceasefires, evacuation deals, prisoner exchanges, negotiated territorial transfers,
prisoner releases, surrenders, repatriations, etc.

Arrests

This sub-event type is used when state forces or other actors exercising de facto
control over a territory either detain a particularly significant individual or engage in
politically significant mass arrests.

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Change to group/activity

This sub-event type is used to record significant changes in the activity or structure
of armed groups. It can cover anything from the creation of a new rebel group or a
paramilitary wing of the security forces, ‘voluntary’ recruitment drives, movement
of forces, or any other non-violent security measures enacted by armed actors. This
sub-event type can also be used if one armed group is absorbed into a different
armed group or to track large-scale defections.

Disrupted weapons use

This sub-event type is used to capture all instances in which an event of ‘Explosions/
Remote violence’ is prevented from occurring, or when armed actors seize significant
caches of weapons. It includes the safe defusal of an explosive, the accidental
detonation of explosives by those allegedly responsible for planting it, the interception
of explosives in the air, as well as the seizure of weapons or weapons platforms
such as jets, helicopters, tanks, etc. Note that in cases where a group other than the
one that planted an explosive is attempting to render an explosive harmless and it
goes off, this is recorded under the ‘Explosions/Remote violence’ event type, as the
explosive has harmed an actor other than the one that planted it.

Headquarters or base established

This sub-event type is used when an organized armed group establishes a permanent
or semi-permanent base or headquarters. There are few cases where opposition
groups other than rebels can also establish a headquarters or base (e.g. AMISOM
forces in Somalia).

Looting/property destruction

This sub-event type is used when actors engage in looting or seizing goods or
property outside the context of other forms of violence or destruction, such as rioting
or armed clashes. This excludes the seizure or destruction of weapons or weapons
systems, which are captured under the ‘Disrupted weapons use’ sub-event type. This
can occur during raiding or after the capture of villages or other populated places by
armed groups that occur without reported violence.

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Non-violent transfer of territory

This sub-event type is used in situations in which rebels, governments, or their

affiliates acquire control of a location without engaging in a violent interaction with
another group. Rebels establishing control of a location without any resistance is an
example of this event.

Other

This sub-event type is used to cover any significant development that does not fall
into any of the other ‘Strategic developments’ sub-event types. Examples include the
occurrence of a coup, the displacement of a civilian population as a result of fighting,
or the discovery of mass graves
.
Event Aggregation

One or more events can occur in the same location on the same day. If two different
types of interactions between the same actors in the same location on the same day are
reported, they are typically noted as a single aggregate event. For example:

1. A rebel group fights with government forces in a town and wins control. Rebel
artillery strikes are reported throughout the day. In this case, only a single ‘Battles’
event between the rebels and the government forces is recorded, instead of one
‘Battles’ event and another ‘Explosions/Remote violence’ event.
2. On the same day, demonstrators hold peaceful protests that progress into violent
clashes with security forces. In this case, a single ‘Riots’ event is recorded, instead
of one ‘Protests’ event and another ‘Riots’ event.

ACLED takes steps to avoid double-counting incidents, which can entail the aggregation
of different forms of violence into single events. For example, if civilians are killed in the
context of a larger ‘Battles’ event, then these reported fatalities will be added to the total
number of fatalities reported for the ‘Battles’ event. The killing of civilians will be noted
in the ‘Notes’ column of the ‘Battles’ event, but it will not constitute a separate event.
In ‘Battles’ events, civilians are never recorded as ‘Associated Actors’ as both parties are
armed actors assumed to engage in violence.

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Further, if an assault – such as an airstrike – hits a military target, but reports also indicate
that civilians were harmed, civilians are recorded as ‘Associated Actors’. Similar to the
previous case, the fatalities from this event, if reported, are aggregated together. In cases
where a bombing occurs with a vague and unspecified military target (e.g. a bombing
in a city where some militants are present, rather than an area known to be controlled
and actively used by militants), but civilians are the main group affected (e.g. civilians are
injured or killed), they will be recorded in the ‘Actor 2’ column. Militants may appear in the
‘Associated Actor 1’ and ‘Associated Actor 2’ columns.

However, if another event type involving different actors occurs on the same day and in
the same location, it is recorded separately. Hence, it is possible to have multiple events –
involving distinct actors – occur in the same location on the same day. For example, if an
incident of armed violence separately targets civilians on the same day and location of a
battle (e.g. a group of militants abducts civilians after engaging police in a shootout), two
events are recorded to accurately capture the ‘Battles’ event and the distinct ‘Violence
against civilians’ event.

In most cases, an event requires two actors, noted in columns ‘Actor 1’ and ‘Actor 2’.
However, the ‘Explosions/Remote violence’, ‘Riots’, ‘Protests’, and ‘Strategic developments’
event types can include one-sided events. If more than two actors are reported, only the
most important engagement is recorded, and the additional groups may be recorded as
‘Associated Actors’ depending on the context (e.g. police forces intervening to disperse
rioters). The order of actors has no meaning in the ACLED dataset, barring cases of ‘Violence
against civilians’, in which the target is always recorded as ‘Actor 2’.

Civilian targeting

In order to facilitate the analysis of all events in the ACLED dataset that feature violence
targeting civilians, the ‘Civilian targeting’ column allows for filtering of events in which
civilians were the main or only target of an event. Besides events coded under the ‘Violence
against civilians’ event type, civilians may also be the main or only target of violence in
events coded under the ‘Explosions/Remote violence’ event type (e.g. a landmine killing a
farmer), ‘Riots’ event type (e.g. a village mob assaulting another villager over a land dispute),
and ‘Excessive force against protesters’ sub-event type (e.g. state forces using lethal force
to disperse peaceful protesters). Events in which civilians were incidentally harmed are not
included in this category.

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Actors

ACLED codes a range of actors, including state forces, rebels, militias, identity groups,
demonstrators, civilians, and external or other forces.

The vast majority of political violence events involve organized armed actors, such as
government forces and their affiliates, rebel groups, militias, external or private forces
(e.g. United Nations missions), and other political groups that interact over issues of
political authority (e.g. territorial control, government control, access to resources, etc.).
All organized armed actors are named,6 have a political purpose, and use violence for
political means. In order for an actor to be classified as an organized agent of political
violence – as opposed to a disorderly riotous group – the organization must be cohesive
and assembled for more than a single event. Further, the activity of such an organization
must be connected to a means for achieving a larger political purpose. This necessary and
sufficient definition of organized actors allows for the establishment of campaigns and
trajectories of movements. In contrast to armed organized actors, rioters are considered to
be unorganized in the sense that they lack inherent organization beyond spontaneous or
atomic acts of organization. Protesters and civilians may be organized and will have named
organizations recorded where relevant.

The name of each actor is noted in the ‘Actor 1’ and ‘Actor 2’ columns of the dataset. The
group type is recorded in the ‘Inter 1’ and ‘Inter 2’ columns, while their dual engagement is
noted in the ‘Interaction’ column.

The ‘Associated Actor 1’ and ‘Associated Actor 2’ columns record the associated groups for
specific events as well as the identity of specific actors. In the former case, an associated
group may be an ally in the action – such as two organized armed groups that are engaging in
attacks against a common enemy. In the latter case, the ‘Associated Actor 1’ and ‘Associated
Actor 2’ columns may record additional information concerning the targets of an attack,
socio-political affiliation of demonstrators, or ethno-religious identity of a civilian victim.
An ‘Explosions/Remote violence’ event that destroys the base of an organized armed
group, but also affects civilians, will have both groups noted – the primary actor will be

6
Except for the actors marked with “unidentified”, e.g. Unidentified Armed Group or Unidentified Gang.

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the ostensibly-intended target (i.e. the armed group in this case), while civilians (commonly
described as ‘collateral damage’ in this case) would be the ‘Associated Actor’.7

Actor Names, Types, and ‘Inter’ Codes

ACLED records the recognized name of actors as reported, whenever possible. In exceptional
circumstances described in detail below, the name of an actor is generated to reflect their
origins and composition.

Each named actor is also designated as a type of organization. There are thousands of
individually named actors within the ACLED dataset, and the ‘Inter’ code categorizes actors
by whether they have similar organizational structures, goals, and practices. Group type
designates all actors into one of eight ACLED categories and assigns a code in the ‘Inter 1’
and ‘Inter 2’ columns to that actor.

These categories offer a way to distinguish between actors and determine how patterns
of activity conform to goals and organizations. ACLED does not use a pattern of activity to
designate what kind of agent an actor is. ACLED specifically observes the goals and structure of
an actor and, where possible, its spatial dimension and relationships to communities.

As such, the ‘Inter’ code of an actor can change over time. For example, if a rebel group is
successful in overthrowing a regime or seceding from a state, its armed agents may then
become the armed wing of a political party within the new regime structure – effectively, a
change in ‘Inter’ code from Rebel group to Politicial militia, e.g. the Imbonerakure militia in
Burundi – or the government forces of the new state – a change in ‘Inter’ code from Rebel
group to State forces, e.g. the Taliban turned into Afghanistan’s state forces.

Certain types of violent agents may appear to fall outside of this categorization, but ACLED
has designed these classifications with the flexibility to fit the universe of agents operating in
conflict. For example, militant religious organizations can have various goals (e.g. al-Qaeda),
including overtaking the state, influencing political processes and supporting regional

7
While civilians are recorded as an ‘Associated Actor’ when they are incidentally killed in ‘Explosions/Remote
violence’ attacks, they are not recorded as such in a ‘Battles’ event. This is because events under the former
involve one side not engaging in any violence within the course of the event; in a ‘Battles’ event, both sides, by
definition, are capable of engaging in or responding with violence, and it would hence be incorrect to denote
that civilians are associated with either side.

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political elites, and engaging in communal contests over access to religious sites. ACLED
does not allow for “insurgents” or “terrorists” as types of agents, but instead categorizes actors
as rebels, militias, communal organizations, protesters, etc. Many armed organizations may
use insurgency tactics or commit acts of violence against civilians, intending to cause a large
number of fatalities as part of their violent repertoire. Instead, ACLED considers the goal and
organization of each group to be the basis for their classification.

(1) State Forces

State forces are defined as collective actors, including military and police, that are
recognized to perform government functions over a given territory. Government
actors are named by ACLED as a series of separate regimes rather than a uniform
body. For example, the government regimes in the present-day Democratic Republic
of Congo since 1965 are recorded as Congo/Zaire (1965-1997), Democratic Republic
of Congo (1997-2001), and Democratic Republic of Congo (2001-2019) as opposed
to Congo/Zaire (1965-present). As the strength, capacity, and policies of governments
can vary widely from one regime to the next, ACLED designates governments by their
leading regimes. This enables researchers to capture the differences in government
involvement and reaction to violence.

As militaries and police forces are a direct arm of the government, these actors are
noted as Military Forces of State (Year-Year) or Police Forces of State (Year-Year).
Mutinies of militaries are recorded as Mutiny of Military Forces of State (Year-Year).
Various units of these state forces are recorded distinctly as well – such as Police
Forces of India (2014-) Assam Rifles or Police Forces of the Philippines (2016-) Anti-
Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force – given that such units can engage in
distinct patterns of behavior. Pro-government militias with indirect links to the state
are not included as state forces, given their deliberate distance from formal ties to the
state.

It is important to note that this classification of state forces does not imply legitimacy,
but rather acknowledges the de facto exercise of authority over a territory. This is
why, in a limited number of cases, ACLED records government actors in states with
limited or no recognition as state forces. These states are not necessarily recorded
separately in the ‘Country’ column, but their government forces are recorded as
distinct state actors. For example, the Military Forces of Somaliland (1991-) actor
is recorded, though its country of activity is recorded in the ‘Country’ column as
Somalia, not Somaliland.

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In cases where the authority of a government is severely challenged, or where two

or more groups have a claim to be the government (with an associated military), a
distinct choice is made about how to proceed with coding – often resulting in both
actors being recorded as state forces. For example, there are competing state forces
recorded as active in Libya from 2014 onwards and in Yemen from 2015 onwards.

(2) Rebel Groups

Rebel groups are defined as political organizations with the goal of countering an
established national governing regime through violence. Rebel groups are named
according to the title they publicly use to represent themselves. The designation as
a rebel group means that the group has a stated political agenda for national power
(either through regime replacement or separatism), is acknowledged beyond the
ranks of immediate members, and uses violence as its primary means to pursue
political goals.

Rebel forces are known by a specific chosen name and the groups are open and
transparent about their intentions and leadership. They typically operate within
and across states, and conduct activity against the central governments and their
associates. Rebel groups often have predecessors and successors due to diverging
goals within their membership. If splinter groups or factions within a group emerge,
these are recorded as distinct actors.

In cases where aggregate groups are contesting the government, we often use an
overarching name rather than factions (e.g. Hutu Rebels active in Burundi; Malay
Muslim Separatists active in Thailand; Opposition Rebels in Syria).

(3) Political Militias

Political militias are a diverse set of violent actors that are often created for a specific
purpose or during a specific time period (e.g. the Janjaweed, largely active in Sudan)
and for the furtherance of a political goal by violence. Political militias are recorded
by their stated name. These organizations are defined by their political goals of
influencing and impacting governance, security, and policy. However, these groups
are not seeking the removal of a national power, but are instead typically supported,
armed by, or allied with a political elite and act towards a goal defined by these elites
or larger political movements. Political militias often operate in conjunction, or in

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alliance, with a recognized government, governor, military leader, rebel organization,

political party, business elite, or opposition group. Whereas some opposition parties
have a militia arm, groups such as the Sudanese Janjaweed or Serbian Tigers are pro-
government militias8 that work as supplements to government power yet maintain
indirect links to such power.

These groups are not subsumed within the category of government or opposition, but
are noted as an armed, distinct, yet associated, wing given their purposeful indirect ties
to the state. These political militias may be associated with defined ethnic, regional,
or other identity communities, but they also operate outside of ethnic homelands and
for goals other than the promotion of ethnic interests. As such, they are recorded as
political militias as opposed to identity militias (more on that below). The Gulf Clan
of Colombia, War Veterans Group in Zimbabwe, and Mayi-Mayi of the Democratic
Republic of Congo are examples of these groups.

At times, unidentified armed groups perpetrate political violence. These groups

often operate like political militias as they can be used by elites under the cover of
anonymity. In some cases, perpetrators are unidentified due to reporting challenges
or the absence of detailed information in a particular conflict context; in other –
perhaps more common – cases, such groups purposefully work to remain unknown
to the larger public in order to pursue violence with impunity. ACLED records such
unidentified actors using the name Unidentified Armed Group (Country).9

(4) Identity Militias

ACLED includes a broad category of identity militias for armed and violent groups
organized around a collective, common feature, including: community, ethnicity,
region, religion, or – in exceptional cases – livelihood. Therefore, for ACLED’s
purposes, identity militias include those identified as tribal, communal, ethnic, local,
clan, religious, and caste militias in source reporting. Events involving identity militias
are often referred to as communal violence, as these violent groups typically act
locally in pursuit of local goals, resources, power, security, and retribution.

8
Clionadh Raleigh and Roudabeh Kishi, ‘Hired Guns; Using Pro-Government Militias for Political Competition,’
Terrorism and Political Violence, 8 January 2018
9
An Unidentified Armed Group is recorded with an ‘Inter’ code of 3, unless they are Unidentified Military
Forces (a rare case that has an ’Inter’ code of 1 or 8’ depending on the context) or Unidentified Ethnic/
Communal/Clan/Tribal Militia with an ‘Inter’ code of 4, as discussed below.

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An armed group claiming to operate on behalf of a larger identity community may be

associated with that community, but not represent it (i.e. Luo Ethnic Militia in Kenya
or Fulani Ethnic Militia in Nigeria). Rather, the identity aspect refers to recruitment
and participation in these groups being determined by association with the identity
of the group.

(5) Rioters

Rioters, loosely assembled groups of individuals or mobs without inherent

organization, engage in violence while participating in demonstrations or engage in
violence that is spontaneous. While less common, rioters may also include groups that
engage in premeditated violence for transient and limited purposes (e.g. a vigilante
mob that mobilizes for perceived justice). They are noted by a general category of
Rioters (Country). If a named organized group is affiliated with or leading an event
(for example, a political party or labor union), the associated group is named in the
respective ‘Associated Actor’ column. Rioters are, by definition, violent or destructive
and may engage in a wide array of violent or destructive acts, including property
destruction, engaging with other armed groups (e.g. security forces, private security
firms, etc.), or in violence against unarmed civilians. While the activity of rioters, by
definition, falls outside the remit of an organized armed group, rioters may sometimes
be armed and/or organized in a spontaneous or atomic manner.

(6) Protesters

Protesters are peaceful demonstrators10, noted by a general category of Protesters

(Country). If a group is affiliated with or leading an event (e.g. Movement for
Democratic Change political party), the associated group is named in the respective
‘Associated Actor’ column. Although protesters are non-violent, they may be the
targets of violence by other groups (e.g. security institutions, private security firms,
or other armed actors).

10
Though non-violent, protesters may engage in disruptive behavior like burning effigies or shoe-throwing.

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(7) Civilians

Civilians, in whatever number or association, are victims of violent acts within

ACLED as they are – by definition – unarmed and, hence, vulnerable. They are noted
as Civilians (Country). If targeted with violence in situations where they are caught
unarmed, some normally armed actors may be recorded as civilians. Examples include
off-duty state soldiers targeted in their homes, or members of armed groups subject
to violence or executed while imprisoned.

(8) External/Other Forces

Small categories of external or other actors include: international organizations,

state forces active outside of their main country of operation, private security firms
and their armed employees, and hired mercenaries acting independently. They are
noted by their name and actions. The military forces of states are recorded with an
‘Inter’ code of 8 (i.e. external forces) when active outside of their home state (e.g. the
military of Turkey active in northern Syria).

Interaction Codes

The joined ‘Interaction’ code is the combination of the two ‘Inter’ codes associated with the
two main actors in an event. Single actor type codes are recorded in ‘Inter 1’ and ‘Inter 2’
columns, and the compounded value is recorded in the ‘Interaction’ column. For example,
if a country’s military fights a political militia group, and the respective ‘Inter 1’ and ‘Inter
2’ codes are ‘State forces’ and ‘Political militia’, respectively, the compounded ‘Interaction’
code is recorded as ‘State forces-Political militia’.

‘Interaction’ codes are standardized so the order of the Actor1 and Actor2 does not matter
across events: e.g. State forces engaging with Political militias and Political militias engaging
with State forces are all recorded as ‘State forces - Political militia’.

‘Interaction’ codes are recorded for all events, including non-violent activity. For one-sided
events, the empty ‘Actor 2’ column is recorded as a blank value. For example, if an event
involving a rebel group is non-violent, the ‘Inter 1’ code is ‘Rebel group’, and ‘Rebel group

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Table 3: ‘Interaction’ Code Descriptions

‘Interaction’ code Description

SOLE STATE FORCES ACTION (e.g. base establishment by

(10) State forces only state forces; remote violence involving state military with no
reported casualties; non-violent military operations)

STATE FORCES VERSUS STATE FORCES (e.g. military

(11) State forces-
infighting; battles between a military and mutinous forces;
State forces
arrests of military officials)

(12) State forces- STATE FORCES VERSUS REBELS (e.g. civil war violence
Rebel group between state forces and a rebel actor)

STATE FORCES VERSUS POLITICAL MILITIA (e.g. violence

(13) State forces-
between state forces and unidentified armed groups;
Political militia
violence between police and political party militias)

(14) State forces- STATE FORCES VERSUS IDENTITY MILITIA (e.g. military
Identity militia engagement with a communal militia)

STATE FORCES VERSUS RIOTERS (e.g. suppression of a

(15) State forces-
violent demonstration by police or military)
Rioters

STATE FORCES VERSUS PROTESTERS (e.g. suppression of

(16) State forces-
a peaceful demonstration by police or military)
Protesters

(17) State forces- STATE FORCES VERSUS CIVILIANS (e.g. state repression of
Civilians civilians; arrests by police)

STATE FORCES VERSUS EXTERNAL/OTHER FORCES (e.g.

(18) State forces- inter-state conflict; state engagement with private security
External/Other forces or a UN operation; strategic developments between a
regime and the UN or another external actor)

SOLE REBEL ACTION (e.g. base establishment; remote

(20) Rebel group only violence involving rebel groups with no reported target;
accidental detonation by a rebel group)

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(22) Rebel group- REBELS VERSUS REBELS (e.g. rebel infighting; violence
Rebel group between rebel groups and their splinter movements)

REBELS VERSUS POLITICAL MILITIA (e.g. civil war violence

(23) Rebel group-
between rebels and a pro-government militia; violence
Political militia
between rebels and unidentified armed groups)

(24) Rebel group- REBELS VERSUS IDENTITY MILITIA (e.g. violence between
Identity militia rebels and local security providers)

REBELS VERSUS RIOTERS (e.g. spontaneous violence against

(25) Rebel group- a rebel group; a violent demonstration engaging a rebel
Rioters group)

REBELS VERSUS PROTESTERS (e.g. violence against

(26) Rebel group- protesters by rebels)
Protesters

REBELS VERSUS CIVILIANS (e.g. rebel targeting of civilians

(27) Rebel group- [a strategy commonly used in civil war])
Civilians

REBELS VERSUS OTHERS (e.g. civil war violence between

(28) Rebel group-
rebels and an allied state military; rebel violence against a
External/Other forces
UN operation)

SOLE POLITICAL MILITIA ACTION (e.g. remote violence

by an unidentified armed group with no reported target;
(30) Political militia
accidental detonation by a political militia; strategic arson as
only
intimidation by a political party)

(33) Political POLITICAL MILITIA VERSUS POLITICAL MILITIA (e.g. inter-

militia-Political elite violence)

POLITICAL MILITIA VERSUS IDENTITY MILITIA (e.g.

(34) Political violence between communal militia and an unidentified
militia-Identity armed group; violence between political militia and local
security providers)

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POLITICAL MILITIA VERSUS RIOTERS (e.g. violent

(35) Political demonstration against a political militia; spontaneous
militia-Rioters violence against a political militia)

POLITICAL MILITIA VERSUS PROTESTERS (e.g. suppression

(36) Political of a peaceful demonstration by a political militia)
militia-Protesters

POLITICAL MILITIA VERSUS CIVILIANS (e.g. out-sourced

(37) Political state repression carried out by pro-government militias;
militia-Civilians civilian targeting by political militias or unidentified armed
groups)

POLITICAL MILITIA VERSUS OTHERS (e.g. violence

(38) Political between private security forces and unidentified armed
militia-External/ groups; violence between pro-government militia and
external state military forces)

SOLE IDENTITY MILITIA ACTION (e.g. destruction of

(40) Identity militia property by a communal militia; establishment of a local
only security militia)

IDENTITY MILITIA VERSUS IDENTITY MILITIA (e.g. inter-

(44) Identity communal violence)
militia-Identity

IDENTITY MILITIA VERSUS RIOTERS (e.g. violent

(45) Identity demonstration against an identity militia; spontaneous
militia-Rioters violence against an identity militia)

IDENTITY MILITIA VERSUS PROTESTERS (e.g. suppression

(46) Identity of a peaceful demonstration by an identity militia)
militia-Protesters

IDENTITY MILITIA VERSUS CIVILIANS (e.g. civilian

(47) Identity targeting, especially in the context of inter-communal
militia-Civilians violence)

IDENTITY MILITIA VERSUS OTHER (e.g. external state

(48) Identity military engaging in violence against a communal militia)
militia-External/

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SOLE RIOTER ACTION (e.g. one-sided violent

(50) Rioters only demonstration; spontaneous arson)

RIOTERS VERSUS RIOTERS (e.g. two-sided violent

(55) Rioters-Rioters demonstration in which both sides engage in violence)

RIOTERS VERSUS PROTESTERS (e.g. two-sided

(56) Rioters-Protesters demonstration in which only one side engages in violence)

RIOTERS VERSUS CIVILIANS (e.g. violent demonstration in

(57) Rioters- which civilians are injured/killed; spontaneous violence in
Civilians which civilians are targeted by a mob)

RIOTERS VERSUS OTHERS (e.g. mob violence against

(58) Rioters- regional or international operation)
External/Other

SOLE PROTESTER ACTION (e.g. one-sided

(60) Protesters only peaceful protest)

PROTESTERS VERSUS PROTESTERS (e.g. two-sided

(66) Protesters- peaceful protest)
Protesters

PROTESTERS VERSUS CIVILIANS (e.g. peaceful protesters

(67) Protesters- engaging civilians)
Civilians

PROTESTERS VERSUS OTHER (e.g. suppression of a

(68) Protesters- peaceful demonstration by private security forces)
External/Other

SOLE CIVILIAN ACTION (e.g. one-sided strategic

(70) Civilians only development)

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CIVILIANS VERSUS CIVILIANS (e.g. peaceful interactions

(77) Civilians- between civilians recorded as ‘Strategic developments’)
Civilians

OTHER ACTOR VERSUS CIVILIANS (e.g. regional or

(78) External/ international operation targeting civilians; private security
Other forces- forces targeting civilians)

SOLE OTHER ACTION (e.g. strategic developments

(80) External/ involving international or regional operations; remote
Other forces only violence by external military forces with no reported target;
non-violent external military operations)

OTHER VERSUS OTHER (e.g. clashes between foreign state

(88) External/ forces, international missions, or private security forces)
Other forces-

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Event Geography

There are up to six different types of spatial information that can be recorded for each
ACLED event:

1. The continental sub-region in which the event occurred;

2. The country in which the event occurred and its associated ISO code;
3. The name of the first, second, and third level administrative zones in which the
specific location is found, according to GIS-based assessments and updated
administrative codes;
4. The name of the specific location of an event;
5. The geographic coordinates of that specific location; and
6. A spatial precision code.

The most specific location for an event is sought for each event ACLED records, using
multiple sources to triangulate better location information.

Locations are recorded to named populated places, geostrategic locations, natural locations,
or neighborhoods of larger cities. Geo-coordinates with four decimals are provided to assist
in identifying and mapping named locations to a central point (i.e. a centroid coordinate)
within that location. Geo-coordinates do not reflect a more precise location, like a block or
street corner, within the named location.

In selected large cities with activity dispersed over many neighborhoods, locations are
further specified to predefined subsections within a city to prevent excessive aggregation
of events to a single city location. In such cases, locations are recorded as: City Name -
District name (e.g. Mosul - Old City) in the ‘Location’ column. If information about the
specific neighborhood/district is not known, the location is recorded at the city level (e.g.
Mosul). In both cases, ‘Geo-precision’ code 1 is recorded (see the section below on spatial
precision codes). The hyphenation feature allows users to aggregate events by city, if needed.

Spatial precision codes

If the source reporting indicates a particular town, and coordinates are available for that
town, the highest precision level, ‘Geo-precision’ code 1, is recorded. If the source material
indicates that activity took place in a small part of a region, and mentions a general area,
the event is coded to a town with geo-referenced coordinates to represent that area, and
the ‘Geo-precision’ code 2 is recorded. If activity occurs near a town or a city, this same

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‘Geo-precision’ code 2 is employed. If a larger region is mentioned, the closest natural

location noted in reporting (like “border area,” “forest,” or “sea,” among others) – or a
provincial capital is used if no other information at all is available – is chosen to represent
the region, and ‘Geo-precision’ code 3 is recorded. Barring some ‘Strategic developments’
events, ACLED does not record events that are imprecise to the country level – meaning
reports that mention 1,000 conflict fatalities “across the country” will be investigated until
they can be recorded as a set of more specific events and will not be recorded as a single
countrywide event.

Event time

Three forms of temporal information are found in each ACLED code:

1. The date of each event;

2. The year; and
3. The temporal precision.
Dates are a necessary component of all ACLED events. ACLED events are atomic as events
are recorded by day. If a military campaign in an area starts on 1 March 2020 and lasts until
5 March 2020 with violent activity reported on each day, this is recorded as five different
events, with a different date for each entry. This episode would not be entered as a single
campaign of violence. This allows ACLED to record the exact number of active days of
a conflict. Events that the source material indicates as occurring in the space of three
months – such as long-running protests – are not automatically assumed to have 90 days
of activity, but instead are only recorded for the days for which it is specifically reported
that an activity took place. This avoids over-counting event occurrences.

Time precision codes

If the source material includes an actual date of an event, a ‘Time precision’ code of 1 is
recorded. If the source material indicates that an event happened sometime during the
week or within a similar period of time (i.e. during the weekend), a ‘Time precision’ code of
2 is recorded and the middle of the period is used as the reference date (i.e. with an event
occurring last week, the ‘Event date’ would be recorded on either Wednesday or Thursday
of that week). If the source material only indicates that an event took place sometime
during a month (i.e. in the past two or three weeks, or in January), without reference to
the particular date, the month mid-point is chosen. If the beginning or end of the month is
noted, the first and last date is used, respectively. In both of these cases, a ‘Time precision’
code of 3 is recorded. ACLED does not include events with less temporal information.

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Reported Fatalities

Events that result in fatalities have the relevant information recorded in the ‘Fatalities’
column. Events recorded by ACLED do not have to meet a minimum fatality number for
inclusion. ACLED only records estimated fatalities when reported by the source material.
When and where possible, ACLED researchers seek out information to triangulate the
fatality numbers reported by sources, but ACLED does not independently verify reported
fatality estimates. Additionally, ACLED is a living dataset, so all fatality figures are revised
and corrected — upward or downward — if new or better information becomes available
(which, in some cases, can be months or years after an event has taken place). Fatality
data are typically the most biased, and least accurate, component of conflict reporting.
They are particularly prone to manipulation by armed groups, and occasionally the media,
which may overstate or underreport fatalities for political purposes. These figures should
therefore be understood as indicative estimates of reported fatalities, rather than definitive
fatality counts.

If the source material differs or a vague estimate is provided, the lowest number of reported
fatalities is recorded in the ‘Fatalities’ column until a more reliable or corroborated estimate
becomes available. If reports mention “several,” “many,” “few,” or plural “fatalities,” yet the
exact number is unknown, either 3 or 10 is recorded as the total, depending on the scale and
context of the attack (for more, see FAQs: ACLED Fatality Methodology). If a report mentions
“dozens,” this is recorded as 12 reported fatalities. If a report mentions “hundreds,” this
is recorded as 100 reported fatalities. If there is no reference made to fatalities in the
source material, or if it is unclear whether fatalities occurred at all (for example, when only
“casualties” are mentioned, which – by definition – means ‘injuries and/or fatalities’), 0
reported fatalities are recorded.

When summarized fatalities are reported, but events occur across several days or in multiple
locations simultaneously (e.g. “12 fatalities result from fighting over a span of 3 days”), the
total number of reported fatalities is divided and that fraction is recorded for each day of
the event (4 reported fatalities per battle day, in the example above). If an odd number
of fatalities is recorded (including 1), the proportion of reported fatalities is divided by
assigning the first day the additional fatality and it is then distributed as evenly as possible.
The disaggregation of fatalities is recorded in the ’Notes’ column of the relevant events.

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Notes

The ‘Notes’ column summarizes the main features of the event. Notes are kept short and
limited to significant details about the specific event. In rare cases, additional relevant
information is added to provide context to the event.

Tags

The ‘Tags’ column provides additional structured information about an ACLED event.
Tags provide a flexible means of refining or grouping existing variables, or providing new
variables for specific contexts that are not already captured within the other data columns.
Tags can be specific to certain actors and event types, themes, countries, time periods,
etc., or combinations thereof. As such, some tags are hyperspecific, such as the “count
every vote” tag that was introduced for the 2020 election demonstrations in the United
States. Other tags, like the “crowd size” tag, are applied globally to all ‘Protests’ and ‘Riots’
events. Tags can be introduced or retired as situations on the ground and analytical needs
develop or subside.

Each tag is separated by a semicolon (;) in the ‘Tags’ column. Users may filter by the tags
to quickly generate subsets of the data on specific political violence or demonstration
activity (for more on how tags are added to the ACLED dataset and the full list of tags, see Tags
in ACLED Data).

Sources and Information Sourcing

ACLED collects information from four main types of sources:

1. Traditional Media: This includes all subnational, national, regional, and

international media outlets that are governed by journalistic principles of
verification.

2. Reports: International institutions and non-governmental organizations – such

as aid groups, human rights organizations, and investigative journalism groups
– regularly publish reports on political violence. Where applicable, ACLED
incorporates events from these reports. Under certain conditions, reports from
groups involved in conflict themselves are also included (Ministries of Defense,
armed groups, NATO, etc.).

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3. Local Partner Data: The past decades have seen an increase in organizations
established at the local level as both social activism and the ability to report political
violence have increased. These organizations leverage their local knowledge as
they collect and obtain information through primary and/or secondary means.
ACLED develops relationships with local partners to enhance the depth and
quality of its data.11

4. New Media (targeted and verified): ‘New media’ (e.g. X, Telegram, WhatsApp) can
be a powerful supplemental source, but varies widely in terms of quality. Therefore,
ACLED does not crowdsource or scrape large amounts of social media. Rather, a
targeted approach to the inclusion of new media is preferred through either the
establishment of relationships with the source directly, or the verification of the
quality of each source.

ACLED researchers systematically cover thousands of distinct sources in over 75 languages.

Sourcing lists are carefully curated and monitored to maintain accurate coverage (for more,
see FAQS: ACLED Sourcing Methodology).

Every ACLED event is based on at least one source. The source names or acronyms are
noted in the ‘Source’ column. With the exception of certain local sources that wish to
remain anonymous, the ‘Source’ column details are sufficient to retrace the sources that
have been used to record an event. All sources listed have contributed information to the
event. Researchers often find multiple reports confirming details about an event; when
multiple sources report on the same information, the most thorough, reliable, and recent
report is cited.

If that event has additional information taken from more than one source, both report
sources are noted in the ‘Source’ column.

11
For safety reasons, some partners that wish to remain anonymous are recorded as ‘Undisclosed Source’ in
the ‘Source’ column.

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Source Scale

The ‘Source scale’ column describes whether the sources used for coding an event operate
at the local, subnational, national, regional, international, or other level. ACLED develops
tailored sourcing profiles for different conflict and disorder contexts drawing on sources
across various scales. An integral part of this sourcing strategy is ACLED’s unique network
of local data collection partners and observatories around the world. With this network,
ACLED is able to gather information in hard-to-access contexts and integrate additional
thematic, regional, and country-level expertise into the dataset (for more, see FAQS: ACLED
Sourcing Methodology).

Relationship to Other Datasets

Information collected by ACLED is generally compatible with other conflict datasets.

ACLED data may be combined with many, if not all, other conflict datasets by country,
year, actor, or specific locality. ACLED data are event data and, as such, care should be given
to combining the information in the ACLED dataset with other datasets using different units of
analysis (e.g. campaigns of violence instead of violent events by day).

As ACLED records a wide range of constituent events for periods and areas affected by
political violence and disorder, more information is collected than datasets that focus on
specific forms of violence (e.g. civil war, ‘terrorism’ as defined by targeting of civilians by
non-state actors alone, or those with fatality thresholds for inclusion) or campaigns of
violence rather than events. Please note that ACLED is a living dataset and event details
are subject to change as new or better information becomes available. Results of analysis
based on ACLED data may differ from analysis based on other datasets with different
scopes and methodologies.

Versions 1 to 7 of the ACLED dataset covered African states. Version 8 expanded to include
South and Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Codebooks for earlier versions of the
ACLED dataset are available upon request. Following Version 8, ACLED moved to a system
of updating events with corrections and appending supplemental data as necessary in real
time. Therefore, ACLED no longer releases formal versions. In 2022, ACLED completed a
final geographic coverage expansion, extending data collection to the entire world.

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 Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) is a disaggregated data
collection, analysis, and crisis mapping project.

ACLED is the highest quality and most widely used real-time data and analysis
source on political violence and protest around the world. Practitioners,
researchers, journalists, and governments depend on ACLED for the latest
reliable information on current conflict and disorder patterns. ACLED is a
registered non-profit organization with 501(c)(3) status in the United States.

361 Falls Rd #501 [email protected]

Grafton, WI 53024 www.acleddata.com

ARMED CONFLICT LOCATION & EVENT DATA