Militarization is the process where a group of people or a society organizes itself for military conflict and violence by amassing weapons and regrouping. The government may seek support and equip foreign groups by militarizing it if its army is unable to repel invasion on its own without support. A good example is when Guinean army was unable to repel invasion by the Macenta and Guekedou combatants who were initially refugees in Guinea between the year 2000 and 2001 and the Guinean government sought assistance from former fighters from the United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO) and Liberians United For Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD). These two groups were mobilized and armed together with the Guinean army in an effort to fight the combatants. This is according to James Milner in his report The militarization and demilitarization of Refugee camps and settlements in Guinea, 1999-2004. Parties that are against the government in power may also recruit young people into local militias and arm them in…show more content… Demobilization, disarmament and reintegration of ex-combatants is a first step in the transition from war to peace. Demilitarization on the other hand can be used also in times of peace where the government may need to reduce the size of armed forces and redistribute public spending. Disarmament, demobilization and reintegration all have both short-term and long-term goals. The short-term goals are restoration of security and stability after a conflict that is done through disarmament of the warring parties and demobilization of armed troops. Disarmament helps reduce mistrust between the warring parties and also allows the aid workers to intervene effectively. The long-term goals for the DDRs are, sustained social and economic reintegration of the ex-combatants into a peaceful