Shifta (Ge'ez: ሽፍታ, or "shufta") is term used in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Tanzania, and Somalia for rebel, outlaw, or bandit.[1][2] The word is derived from shúfto.[3][4] Historically, the shifta served as a local militia in particularly remote, rural and often lawless parts of the Horn of Africa. The word shifta can be translated as "bandit" or "outlaw", but can include anyone who rebels against an authority or an institution that is seen as illegitimate.[5]