Cheta (armed group)



A cheta (çeta; ceatã; чета; ; ceată; çete; чета / četa), in plural chetas, were irregular armed bands present throughout 19th century Ottoman Empire, particularly Anatolia and the Balkans. The members of the chetas were called chetniks.

In the late Ottoman Empire, armed rebellions became a chronic feature during the struggle for Macedonia as armed groups of pro-Bulgarian, as well as pro-Serbian, pro-Greek, Aromanian and Albanian formations fought against each other as well as the Ottoman troops, trying to impose their nationality on the territory's inhabitants, and increasingly harsh Ottoman crackdowns indicated that reform and reconciliation of the Ottoman state with the various nationalist groups was growing less likely. The cheta was usually led by a leader, called voivoda.

Muslim chetas were active in Asia Minor after World War I. They were notorious for their assaults on Christian Orthodox Armenians, Greeks, and Assyrians during the late Ottoman genocides. The term was also used as a synonym for members of the Special Organization.