I am reading a pretty interesting book and came across this passage early on which struck something of a familiar chord:

"Even in the supposedly pacified areas...the military occupation was purely notional. Memoirs convey a Wild West frontier atmosphere, with civilians and administrators routinely going armed, and never venturing far without exchanging the latest information on which villages and roads were safe and which should be avoided. In practical terms the army controlled only a shifting pattern of invisible islands in the human landscape. The spaces between were roamed by ...and other armed groups. The activities of the .... had scattered ..(region)...with weapons...and the vacuum following ...(X's)...surrender was exploited by local warlords, drug smugglers, freebooting deserters, and partisans and ragged militias of many groups and causes."

As you might guess, I have clipped many identifying details. Who wants to guess the locale and year +/- 5? Any unsuccessful guessers agree to buy successful guessers a beer when next they meet.