Eric Odwar

Last updated
Eric Odwar
BornOrom, Uganda
Died(1987-01-18)18 January 1987
Camp Kilak, Uganda
AllegianceFlag of Uganda.svg  Uganda (until 1986)
UPDA (1986)
HSM (1986–1987)
Service/branch UNLA (until 1986)
Years of service?–1987
Rank Lieutenant colonel
CommandsBuffalo Battalion (UNLA)
Southern Brigade (UNLA)
90 Brigade (UPDA)
Battles/wars

Eric Odwar (died 18 January 1987) was an Ugandan military officer and rebel leader who successively served in the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA), Uganda People's Democratic Army (UPDA), and Holy Spirit Movement (HSM). He played a substantial role in the Ugandan Bush War, being one of the main counter-insurgency commanders of the government during this conflict. In 1985, he and other UNLA commanders overthrew the government of Milton Obote. A few months later, the National Resistance Army (NRA) won the Bush War, whereupon Odwar fled into exile and helped to organize a rebellion against the new Ugandan government. At first, he led a unit of the UPDA insurgent group, but later switched allegiance to the HSM. He was killed in combat in January 1987.

Contents

Biography

Early life and UNLA career

Odwar was an ethnic Acholi [1] and born at Orom in northern Uganda. [2] In April 1979, Tanzanian forces and the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA), a coalition of armed rebel groups, overthrew the regime of Ugandan President Idi Amin. This resulted in widespread unrest, with fleeing Uganda Army troops looting across the country. Alongside Stephenson Ojukwu and Kenneth Banya, Odwar helped to deploy UNLA troops in eastern Acholiland and thus protected the local communities from the looting soldiers. [3] Odwar subsequently rose in the ranks of the UNLA. [4] At one point, Odwar befriended Salim Saleh who subsequently became his long-time opponent. [5]

In 1980, a civil war known as the "Ugandan Bush War" broke out; [6] Odwar remained loyal to the government and continued to serve in the UNLA. By 1983, he had been promoted to major and commanded the "Buffalo Battalion", a sub-unit of the Special Brigade of John Charles Ogole. [7] He eventually rose to second-in-command of the Special Brigade, a UNLA unit which focused on destroying the National Resistance Army (NRA) rebel group. [8] At some point, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. [4] [9]

In January 1985, Odwar took part in the Battle of Birembo. [10] Afterward, Odwar continued to command a battalion during Ogole's repeated attempts to find and destroy the NRA's main unit, the Mobile Brigade. [4] [9] In June, the UNLA discovered and cornered the Mobile Brigade in the Singo area; Odwar and Joseph Kiyengo led their battalions to pursue the rebels. On 21 June, however, the Mobile Brigade under his former friend Salim Saleh ambushed and heavily defeated the units of Odwar as well as Kiyengo in the Battle of Kembogo. [11] [12] After his troops were routed, Odwar allegedly spent several days hiding in the bush to evade the rebels. [8] Upon returning to safety, Kiyengo and Odwar initially did not contact Ogole as they feared their superior's reaction. Odwar eventually sent a radio message in which he reportedly described the Battle of Kembogo as a "catastrophe". [13]

After the repeated setbacks against the rebels, unrest spread in the UNLA and resulted in a mutiny. [12] [14] Worried that the chaos among the military could result in a purge aimed at Acholi soldiers, a faction of UNLA officers launched a coup and overthrew President Obote in July 1985. [15] Odwar sided with the pro-coup forces, and led his troops to oust pro-Obote forces from Hoima, Masindi, Fort Portal, Mbarara and Masaka. In the process, he contacted Saleh, offering him and the NRA arms, ammunition and military uniforms for a ceasefire as well as their tacit support. [16] [8] The rebel commander agreed. [16] On 27 July, the pro-coup forces captured Ugandan capital Kampala and installed General Tito Okello as new president. [16] [15] After the successful coup, Odwar was appointed head of the UNLA's Southern Brigade. [17] However, the UNLA was left severely weakened by the coup and its aftermath, with many soldiers deserting, defecting to insurgent groups, or fleeing into exile. [18]

Initially, Okello's new regime reached out to the various rebel groups around the country, offering them participaction in the government in return for an end of their resistance. Based on the previous agreement between Odwar and Saleh, the NRA initially appeared to also cooperate with the new authorities. [19] [18] However, the NRA quickly renegaded on any agreements to launch new offensives, seizing large parts of Uganda. [19] [20] New peace talks were initiated, but Odwar reportedly recognized that the NRA was merely using these to prepare its next offensive. As his warnings about these fears were ignored by Okello's government, Odwar and Major John Kilama started to plot a new coup, but this plan became obsolete when the NRA soon resumed its attacks. [21] In January 1986, the NRA attacked Kampala. Odwar led parts of the local UNLA garrison, including the defense of Summit View. On 26 January, the NRA's 11th Battalion overran Odwar's forces, forcing him to order a retreat. [22] After capturing Kampala, NRA leader Yoweri Museveni was declared president of Uganda. [23]

Rebel activity and death

After the NRM seized state power, Odwar and several other UNLA officers continued their attempts to resist. They tried to maintain power in northern Uganda, with Odwar taking control of the UNLA forces blocking the Kampala–Gulu Highway. [17] Despite these efforts, the NRA overran the remaining UNLA holdouts from February to March 1986, thus ending the Ugandan Bush War. [24] Afterward, many UNLA leaders fled into exile, and prepared to resume their resistance. Odwar became a founding member of the Uganda People's Democratic Army (UPDA), a rebel group formed by ex-UNLA commanders to overthrow the new NRM government during a rebellion from mid-1986. [1] As part of the UPDA, Odwar was appointed commander of the 90 Brigade [25] which mainly operated in the area around Kitgum. [5] His troops were based at Oryebo near Namokora. [2]

After some initial successes, the UPDA began to decline; Odwar contemplated to quit the insurgency. [26] He reportedly contacted his old friend and opponent, NRA commander Salim Saleh, and tried to negotiate a ceasefire. [5] [8] NRA Deputy Defense Minister Fred Rwigyema later claimed that the two sides actually agreed to a meeting for further peace talks, but this never took place due to Odwar's eventual death. [5] The gradual collapse of the UPDA allowed a self-proclaimed prophetess, Alice Auma, to expand her militant Holy Spirit Movement (HSM) by recruiting dissatisfied UPDA fighters. Around December 1986, Odwar left the frontlines to visit his family in Sudan; upon returning, he discovered that the 90 Brigade had pledged loyalty to the HSM. [27] The officer became curious about the alleged prophetess and her "supernatural powers". Upon meeting her at Orom, Odwar became convinced of her cause and asked to join her army. [26] Auma initially refused as she regarded soldiers like him as the cause of Uganda's ills. After three days, she relented and granted him the post of platoon commander, a major demotion from his previous ranks. Despite this, Odwar was reportedly impressed by Auma's rhetoric and military capabilities, and praised her in a conversation with another UPDA commander. [28]

In January 1987, Auma led the HSM to launch a major attack on Camp Kilak, an important NRA base. The fighting lasted four days, resulting in heavy losses on both sides. Though the insurgents initially overran the base and routed the NRA garrison, government forces counter-attacked and eventually repelled the HSM. Odwar was killed on the battle's final day on 18 January 1987. [28] At the time of his death, he was described as "one of the rebels’ most experienced officers" by the Los Angeles Times . [29]

Personal life

In one alleged instance, Odwar kidnapped a woman named Jane from a secondary school and forced her to become his wife. She managed to escape at the end of the Ugandan Bush War. [8] By 1986, his family lived in Sudan. [28]

Related Research Articles

The National Resistance Army (NRA) was a guerilla army and the military wing of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) that fought in the Ugandan Bush War against the government of Milton Obote, and later the government of Tito Okello. NRA was supported by Muammar Gaddafi.

The Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF) was a political group formed by exiled Ugandans opposed to the rule of military dictator Idi Amin. The UNLF had an accompanying military wing, the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA). UNLA fought alongside Tanzanian forces in the Uganda–Tanzania War that led to the overthrow of Amin's regime. The group ruled Uganda from the overthrow of Amin in April 1979 until the disputed national elections in December 1980.

The Uganda People's Democratic Army (UPDA) was a rebel group operating in northern Uganda from March 1986 to June 1988.

The Front for National Salvation (FRONASA) was a Ugandan rebel group led by Yoweri Museveni. The group factually emerged in 1971, although it was formally founded in 1973. FRONASA, along with other militant groups such as Kikosi Maalum, formed the Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF) and its military wing the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) in 1979 to fight alongside Tanzanian forces against Idi Amin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salim Saleh</span> Ugandan military officer

Salim Saleh is a retired Ugandan military officer who served in the Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF), the armed forces of Uganda. He is a brother to the President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, and an adviser to the President on military matters. He served as Minister of State for microfinance from 2006 to 2008. Saleh's name has surfaced in controversies regarding corruption, including being implicated by the UN Security Council for plundering natural resources in Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Justine Odong Latek was a Ugandan brigadier who served in the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) during the Ugandan Bush War and later led the Uganda People's Democratic Army (UPDA) during the 1986–1994 war in Uganda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Oyite-Ojok</span> Ugandan military commander

David Oyite Ojok was a Ugandan military officer who held a leadership position in the coalition of Uganda National Liberation Army and Tanzania People's Defence Force which removed military dictator Idi Amin in 1979 and, until his death in a helicopter crash, served as the national army chief of staff with the rank of major general.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ugandan Bush War</span> Guerrilla war in Uganda 1980–1986

The Ugandan Bush War was a civil war fought in Uganda by the official Ugandan government and its armed wing, the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA), against a number of rebel groups, most importantly the National Resistance Army (NRA), from 1980 to 1986.

Kikosi Maalum, also known as the Special Battalion or the grand coalition, was a militia of Ugandan exiles formed in Tanzania to fight against the regime of Idi Amin. The unit was founded by and loyal to former Ugandan President Milton Obote, and served as his de facto private army. It was commanded by former army officers David Oyite-Ojok, and Tito Okello. Kikosi Maalum took part in the Uganda–Tanzania War, fighting alongside the Tanzanian military against Amin's forces. In course of this conflict, the militia was nominally unified with other Ugandan rebel groups, forming the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) in 1979. After the fall of Amin's regime and Obote's return to power, Kikosi Maalum became the core of Uganda's new national army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1985 Ugandan coup d'état</span>

The 1985 Ugandan coup d'état was an ethnically motivated military takeover in Uganda involving dissident Acholi elements within the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA), led by Brigadier Basilio Olara Okello, which successfully ousted the second Milton Obote government. The army promptly named General Tito Okello Lutwa as President of the Military Council, only for him to be ousted six months later by Yoweri Museveni and his National Resistance Army (NRA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Kampala</span> 1986 battle of the Ugandan Bush War

The Battle of Kampala was a battle of the Ugandan Bush War that took place from 17 to 26 January 1986 in which forces of the National Resistance Army (NRA) attacked and captured the Ugandan capital, Kampala, from the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA). As a result, the Ugandan government was deposed and replaced by a new one under NRA leader Yoweri Museveni.

Abdulatif Tiyua is a retired Ugandan military officer and former rebel leader. He served as a Uganda Army (UA) commander during the dictatorship of Idi Amin. When Amin was overthrown in 1979 during the Uganda–Tanzania War, Tiyua was imprisoned by the new Ugandan government. He was freed in 1985, when Tito Okello overthrew Ugandan President Milton Obote. When Okello was defeated by Yoweri Museveni's National Resistance Army, Tiyua joined an insurgency in northern Uganda, and eventually rose to deputy commander of the West Nile Bank Front rebel group. Following years of warfare, Tiyua was captured by rebels allied to the Ugandan government in southern Sudan in 1997, and was again incarcerated. After being released in 2000, he became chairman of a veterans association and has lobbied for his former rebel comrades to end their insurgency.

The siege of Masaka was a battle of the Ugandan Bush War that took place from 25 September to 10 December 1985 in which forces of the National Resistance Army (NRA) besieged and eventually captured the large Ugandan town of Masaka, from the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA).

The Uganda Army, also known as Uganda Armed Forces, served as the national armed forces of Uganda during the dictatorship of Idi Amin (1971–1979). It mostly collapsed during the Uganda–Tanzania War, but remnants continued to operate in exile from 1979. These pro-Amin rebel forces continued to be called the "Uganda Army" and maintained a semblance of cohesion until 1980, when they fully fractured into rival factions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War in Uganda (1986–1994)</span> Period of mass insurgency in Uganda between 1986 and 1994

From 1986 to 1994, a variety of rebel groups waged a civil war against the Ugandan government of President Yoweri Museveni. Most of the fighting took place in the country's north and east, although the western and central regions were also affected. The most important insurgent factions were the Uganda People's Democratic Army (UPDA), the Uganda People's Army (UPA), Alice Auma's Holy Spirit Movement (HSM), and Joseph Kony's army. Several smaller rebel factions and splinter groups of the larger movements waged their own campaigns; the rebels often clashed with each other. All belligerents, including the government, targeted civilians and committed human rights violations. In course of fighting that involved tens of thousands of troops, the Ugandan government was able to gradually defeat or contain most rebel factions. The operations in the north and east caused great destruction and resulted in high civilian casualties.

The Battle of Kabamba, also known as the First Battle of Kabamba, was the result of an attempt by Popular Resistance Army (PRA) rebels to capture an armoury at the Kabamba Military Barracks, defended by the Tanzania People's Defence Force (TPDF) and Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA). The battle marked the PRA's entry in the Ugandan Bush War.

Sam Magara was a Ugandan rebel, and one of the National Resistance Army (NRA)'s leading commanders during the early Ugandan Bush War. A long-time associate of NRA leader Yoweri Museveni, he became the latter's second-in-command in 1981 and assumed command of the NRA in his absence. However, he fell into disfavor after the NRA's internal security network alleged that he was planning to overthrow Museveni. Magara was eventually killed by security forces in Kampala in late 1982.

The Battle of Birembo was fought between National Resistance Movement (NRM) rebels and the Ugandan government, supported by North Korean forces, during the late Ugandan Bush War. In the clash, the government forces were almost able to encircle a strong insurgent force which included the NRM chief commander, Yoweri Museveni, but ultimately could not prevent a successful rebel breakout.

The Battle of Kakiri was a raid by Popular Resistance Army (PRA) rebels to capture weapons and ammunition at a military outpost in Kakiri during the early Ugandan Bush War. Kakiri was defended by a Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) contingent. The insurgents successfully overran the outpost and then tried to retreat with their loot. In the process, they chanced upon a Tanzania People's Defence Force (TPDF) patrol, killing several of its members. The PRA subsequently escaped into the bush, pursued by UNLA and TPDF troops. A few days later, one PRA contingent was attacked by a TPDF company and lost some of the weapons captured at Kakiri.

The Battle of Kembogo was fought between National Resistance Movement (NRM) rebels and the Ugandan government during the late Ugandan Bush War. After government's Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) attempted to corner and destroy a major rebel force under Salim Saleh, the latter lured their pursuers into an ambush and inflicted a heavy defeat on them. The battle contributed to growing unrest among government forces.

References

  1. 1 2 Lamwaka 2016, p. 60.
  2. 1 2 Lamwaka 2016, p. 71.
  3. ↑ Lamwaka 2016, p. 75.
  4. 1 2 3 Kainerugaba 2010, p. 128.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Lamwaka 2016, p. 139.
  6. ↑ Cooper & Fontanellaz 2015, p. 39.
  7. ↑ "What killed Gen. Oyite-Ojok?". Daily Monitor. 15 November 2012. Archived from the original on 14 January 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Giles Muhame (16 July 2018). "Inside Kayihura's 'Letter to Jane' at the Peak of NRA War". Chimp Reports. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  9. 1 2 Joshua Kato (21 June 2021). "The battle that ended Obote's second government". New Vision. Archived from the original on 20 September 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  10. ↑ Dickens H. Okello (6 January 2020). "Why Galamba - Birembo trek is special - Museveni". New Vision. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  11. ↑ Kainerugaba 2010, pp. 130–133.
  12. 1 2 Cooper & Fontanellaz 2015, p. 48.
  13. ↑ Kainerugaba 2010, p. 133.
  14. ↑ Kainerugaba 2010, pp. 133–134.
  15. 1 2 Cooper & Fontanellaz 2015, pp. 48–49.
  16. 1 2 3 Otunnu 2017, p. 158.
  17. 1 2 Lamwaka 2016, p. 18.
  18. 1 2 Cooper & Fontanellaz 2015, p. 49.
  19. 1 2 Otunnu 2017, pp. 162, 167.
  20. ↑ Cooper & Fontanellaz 2015, pp. 49–50.
  21. ↑ "Life in NRM/A rebel-controlled western Uganda". Daily Monitor. 2 December 2012. Archived from the original on 27 January 2024. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  22. ↑ Kainerugaba 2010, p. 168.
  23. ↑ Cooper & Fontanellaz 2015, pp. 50–51.
  24. ↑ Cooper & Fontanellaz 2015, p. 51.
  25. ↑ Lamwaka 2016, pp. 60, 81.
  26. 1 2 Lamwaka 2016, p. 82.
  27. ↑ Lamwaka 2016, pp. 81–82.
  28. 1 2 3 Lamwaka 2016, p. 81.
  29. ↑ "The World - News from Jan. 22, 1987". The Los Angeles Times. 22 January 1987. Retrieved 21 September 2024.

Works cited

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.