Askari

Askari is an Arabic word meaning "soldier" (Arabic: عسكري‎ ‘askarī). It was normally used to describe local troops in East Africa, Northeast Africa, and Central Africa serving in the armies of European colonial powers. The designation can, however, also describe police, gendarmerie and security guards. The word has since been adopted in Amharic, Bosnian, Italian, Persian, Polish, Somali, Swahili, Turkish and Urdu.