Belligerent
Warring party to military conflict / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Belligerents" redirects here. For the Australian indie pop band, see the Belligerents.
A belligerent is an individual, group, country, or other entity that acts in a hostile manner, such as engaging in combat. The term comes from the Latin bellum gerere ("to wage war").[1] Unlike the use of belligerent as an adjective meaning "aggressive", its use as a noun does not necessarily imply that a belligerent country is an aggressor.
In times of war, belligerent countries can be contrasted with neutral countries and non-belligerents. However, the application of the laws of war to neutral countries and the responsibilities of belligerents are not affected by any distinction between neutral countries, neutral powers or non-belligerents.[2][3]
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