The Military Manual (1993) of the Netherlands states that participants in a levée en masse are considered as combatants if “they carry arms openly and comply with the humanitarian law of war”. 

The Military Manual (2005) of the Netherlands states that combatants include: “the population of an unoccupied area which spontaneously takes up arms when the enemy approaches, to repel the invading troops. This is called a mass uprising. The requirement is that they openly bear arms and obey the rules of the humanitarian law of war.”