The Tigray Defense Forces (Tigrinya: ሓይልታት ምክልኻል ትግራይ; TDF: ሓምት), colloquially Tigray Army (ሰራዊት ትግራይ) is a paramilitary rebel group in Tigray. It was founded by distant former generals of Ethiopia in 2020 to fight the federal government mandate and federal forces which enforce federal mandate in the regional state, in the Tigray War. The TDF is said to have experience with guerrilla warfare. Amnesty International and the Human Rights Watch have reported that TDF rebels have partaken in gang rapes and extrajudicial killings of civilians during their occupation of the Afar and Amhara regions. According to the Ethiopian Ministry of Justice TDF rebels have been found responsible for at least 540 civilians deaths by 28 December 2021.