Cagoulards

The Cagoulards (Hooded Ones) were a paramilitary unit operating under the Redonian Committee of Public Safety from 1921 to 1932. Founded by the authoritarian Septembriste government, the Cagoulards were used for indiscriminate against political opponents, and have been described as a, making use of tactics such as bombings,  and murder. The militia operated outside the legal security regime, and officially denied any ties to the government, claiming to simply be a 'union of concerned volunteers' protecting the security of the Republic. Members of Cagoulard squads wore civilian clothing and were armed with pistols, knives, batons and hunting rifles. They also maintained and infiltrated various civilian organisations to gather intelligence on suspected oppositionists.

The main targets of the Cagoulards were ideological and class enemies - former landlords, aristocrats, clergy and capitalists were all considered potential traitors, even after their institutional power had mostly been expropriated. However left-wing elements that opposed the terror or the security state were also frequent targets, and many Cagoulard cells were embedded in trade unions and workers councils to keep tabs on labor organizers. National minorities and independence movements were also major victims of Cagoulard activity, subject to assassinations of community leaders and spontaneous massacres orchestrated by provocateurs.

The unit was most active during the Redonian Terror of 1927 - 1930, when it had over 10,000 members and 300 cells across the country, but remained in existence until the start of the Endwar, when it was disbanded to allow members to join the army and intelligence services. Many Cagoulards took part in the Redonian resistance against the Zusian and Hyspanic occupations. After the war, the political tide turned against the Cagoulards and many of their leading figures were tried for supposed banditry and terrorism - though the trials were to a large degreee used to remove popular political and military figures who had fallen out of favour in the regime hierarchy.

The Redonian government continued to deny all responsibility for activities of the Cagoulards until 1979, when it finally acknowledged the role of the security services in forming and arming the militia, but still denied direct control over their activities. In 1981 the archives of the Committee of Public Security were finally declassified, revealing the full scope of the Terror and government involvement. Since 2003 the Independent Commission for Revolutionary Justice has worked to apprehend and try former members of the Cagoulards, as well as other members of the security services implicated in crimes against humanity, though most are now deceased or living abroad.