National Resistance Army

Last updated

National Resistance Army
Leaders Yoweri Museveni
Dates of operationJune 1981 – 1995
Ideology Maoism [1]
Battles and wars Bush War
War in Uganda (1986–1994)
LRA insurgency
Kenyan-Ugandan border conflict
Preceded by
PRA
UFF
Succeeded by
UPDF

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. [2]

NRA was formed in 1981 when Yoweri Museveni's Popular Resistance Army (PRA) merged with ex-president Yusuf Lule's group, the Uganda Freedom Fighters (UFF). Museveni, then leader of the Uganda Patriotic Movement party, alleged electoral fraud and declared an armed rebellion, following the victory of Uganda Peoples Congress in the bitterly disputed 1980 general election. [3]

Museveni, who had guerrilla war experience with the Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO) in Mozambique, and his own Front for National Salvation (FRONASA) formed in Tanzania to fight Idi Amin, led the NRA to victory against Ugandan government troops (UNLA) in 1986. By the time that the victorious NRA entered Kampala in 1986, about a quarter of its 16,000 combatants were Banyarwanda [ citation needed ], while Fred Rwigema was its deputy commander. The NRA then became the national army.

Shortly afterwards the UNLA carried out a number of attacks against civilians in the north of Uganda. [4] The attacks largely targeted the Acholi people and were in part seen as a form of revenge for Operation Bonanza, the scorched-earth operation there that had been ordered by Milton Obote during his presidency. [4]

From 1986 to 1990, the Museveni regime tried to end various insurgencies and to establish control over the army. [5] Despite repeated government claims that the NRA had defeated the UNLA and other rebel groups, insurgent activity continued, especially in the northern, eastern, and western regions. In April 1988, 3,000 former Uganda People's Army (UPA) fighters and members of several other small rebel groups accepted a government amnesty by surrendering and declaring their support for Museveni's regime. In June 1988, the president concluded a peace agreement with Uganda People's Democratic Army (UPDA) commander Lieutenant Colonel John Angelo Okello. Although the NRA subsequently integrated many UPA and UPDA personnel into its ranks, thousands of others rejected the peace accord and continued to fight against the NRA.

After the 1995 Ugandan constitution was enacted, the NRA was renamed the Uganda People's Defence Force.

Related Research Articles

Bazilio Olara-Okello was a Ugandan military officer and one of the commanders of the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) that together with the Tanzanian army organized the coup d'état that overthrew Idi Amin in 1979. In 1985, he was briefly the chairman of the ruling Military Council and de facto head of state of Uganda, and later, lieutenant-general and chief of the armed forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Uganda (1979–1986)</span>

The History of Uganda from 1979 to 1986 comprises the history of Uganda since the end of the dictatorship of Idi Amin. This period has seen the second rule of Milton Obote and the presidency of Yoweri Museveni since 1986, in which Ugandan politics have been dominated by the National Resistance Movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tito Okello</span> President of Uganda from 1985 to 1986

Tito Lutwa Okello was a Ugandan military officer and politician. He was the eighth president of Uganda from 29 July 1985 until 26 January 1986.

The Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF) was a political group formed by exiled Ugandans opposed to the rule of Idi Amin with 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 Idi Amin's regime. The group ruled Uganda from the overthrow of Amin in April 1979 until the disputed national elections in December 1980.

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.

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 has featured in controversies regarding corruption, including being implicated by the UN Security Council for plundering natural resources in Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Nairobi Agreement was a peace deal between the Ugandan government of Tito Okello and the National Resistance Army (NRA) rebel group led by Yoweri Museveni. The accords were signed in Nairobi, Kenya in December 1985.

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 commander who held one of the leadership positions in the coalition between Uganda National Liberation Army and Tanzania People's Defence Force which removed strongman 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.

The military history of Uganda begins with actions before the conquest of the country by the British Empire. After the British conquered the country, there were various actions, including in 1887, and independence was granted in 1962. After independence, Uganda was plagued with a series of conflicts, most rooted in the problems caused by colonialism. Like many African nations, Uganda endured a series of civil wars and coup d'états. Since the 2000s in particular, the Uganda People's Defence Force has been active in peacekeeping operations for the African Union and the United Nations.

The Uganda People's Army (UPA) was a rebel group recruited primarily from the Iteso people of Uganda that was active between 1987 and 1992. The UPA was composed mostly of former soldiers in the special forces of the Uganda National Liberation Army and opposed the National Resistance Army (NRA) government of Yoweri Museveni, who took power in January 1986. Reaching a height after the widespread cattle raid by Karamojong in 1987, the UPA rebellion was eventually ended through the mediation of the Teso Commission.

<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).

<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.

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 Former Uganda National Army was a Ugandan rebel group active during the Ugandan Bush War and the subsequent insurgencies in the country. The group claimed to be a continuation of the Uganda Army under Idi Amin and was made up mostly of Amin loyalists. It came to be led by General Isaac Lumago and Brigadier Amin Onzi. The group was mainly active in Northern Uganda as well as Zaire and Sudan, where they operated rear bases and acquired weapons and equipment.

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.

References

  1. Simba, S. K. (2015). "Same Same but Different: Parties, Politics and Ideology in Uganda" (PDF). Makerere University College of Humanities and Social Sciences. p. 8. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  2. "Mercenaries paid between $300 and $2,000 a day – Gaddafi amasses army of African mercenaries". Al Arabiya. 3 March 2011.
  3. "A Country Study: The Second Obote Regime: 1981–85", Library of Congress Country Studies
  4. 1 2 Green, Matthew (2008). The Wizard of the Nile: The Hunt for Africa's Most Wanted. Portobello Books. p. 75. ISBN   9781846270314.
  5. Library of Congress, The Rise of the National Resistance Army, accessed February 2009