Revolutionary Cells (German group)

Revolutionary Cells
Dates of operation1973–1995
Active regionsWest Germany
West Berlin
IdeologyAnti-imperialism
Anti-Zionism
Autonomism
Marxism
Left wing
AlliesPopular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Uganda Uganda (1976)
East Germany East Germany
OpponentsWest Germany West Germany
 Israel
 Kenya
Battles and warsNumerous bombings and one hijacking

The Revolutionary Cells (German: Revolutionäre Zellen, abbreviated RZ) were a self-described "urban guerrilla" organisation that was active between 1973 and 1995.[1] The West German Interior Ministry described it as one of West Germany's most dangerous leftist terrorist groups in the early 1980s.[2] According to the office of the German Federal Prosecutor, the Revolutionary Cells claimed responsibility for 186 attacks,[3] of which 40 were committed in West Berlin.[citation needed]

The Revolutionary Cells are known for the 1976 hijacking of an Air France flight in cooperation with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – External Operations (PFLP-EO) and diverting it to Uganda's Entebbe Airport, where the participating members were granted temporary asylum until they were killed by commandos of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during Operation Entebbe, a hostage rescue mission carried out at Entebbe Airport.[4][5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference DW-2007 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference WGIM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Keesing's Record of World Events. Longman. 2004.
  4. ^ The New York Times, "HOSTAGES FREED AS ISRAELIS RAID UGANDA AIRPORT; Commandos in 3 Planes Rescue 105", http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60816FA38591B728DDDAD0894DF405B868BF1D3
  5. ^ Blumenau, Bernhard (2014). The United Nations and Terrorism. Germany, Multilateralism, and Antiterrorism Efforts in the 1970s. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 59–64. ISBN 978-1-137-39196-4.