Old paramilitaries mentioned in paper (5)
I believe the answer is:
essay
'paper' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
I don't understand the remainder of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for essay that I've seen before include "Old experiment" , "Attempt - piece of writing" , "Written academic work" , "Have a shot at a written piece" , "Scholarly work" .)