Falintil
![](/Images/godic/202501/12/Coat_of_arms_of_East_Timor.svg4419.png")
![FALINTIL veterans in East Timor, 2005](/Images/godic/202501/12/FALINTIL_veterans_USAID_photo4419.jpg")
![Former resistance fighter and former Prime Minister of East Timor Xanana Gusmão in 2006 with Condoleezza Rice.](/Images/godic/202501/12/Xanana_Gusmão_&_Condoleezza_Rice,_2006Jan254419.jpg")
Falintil (or FALINTIL) originally began as the military wing of the political party FRETILIN of East Timor. It was established on 20 August 1975 in response to FRETILIN’s political conflict with the Timorese Democratic Union (UDT).
The name FALINTIL is an acronym of its full name in Portuguese, Forças Armadas da Libertação Nacional de Timor-Leste. In English this translates as "The Armed Forces for the National Liberation of East Timor".