The National Resistance Army (NRA), the military wing of the

National Resistance Movement The National Resistance Movement ( sw, Harakati za Upinzani za Kitaifa; abbr. NRM) has been the ruling party in Uganda since 1986. History The National Resistance Movement (NRM) was founded as a liberation movement that waged a guerrilla ...

(NRM), was a rebel army that waged a guerrilla war, commonly referred to as the

Ugandan Bush War The Ugandan Bush War, also known as the Luwero War, the Ugandan Civil War or the Resistance 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 ...

or Luwero War, against the government of

Milton Obote Apollo Milton Obote (28 December 1925 – 10 October 2005) was a Ugandan political leader who led Uganda to independence from British colonial rule in 1962. Following the nation's independence, he served as prime minister of Uganda from 1962 to ...

, and later that of Tito Okello. NRA was supported by Muammar Gaddafi. NRA was formed in 1981 when

Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and retired senior military officer who has been the 9th and current President of Uganda since 26 January 1986. Museveni spearheaded rebellions with aid of then ...

Popular Resistance Army The Popular Resistance Army, also known as Movement for the Struggle for Political Rights, was a rebel group organized around late 1980 and early 1981 by Yoweri Museveni to fight against the regime of Milton Obote of Uganda. It was one of the Nati ...

(PRA) merged with ex-president

Yusuf Lule Yusuf Kironde Lule (10 April 1912 – 21 January 1985) was a Ugandan professor and civil servant who served as the fourth president of Uganda between 13 April and 20 June 1979. Early life Yusuf Lule was born on 10 April 1912 in Kampala."Lule, ...

's group, the

Uganda Freedom Fighters The Uganda Freedom Fighters (UFF), also known as the Buganda Army, was a Ugandan rebel group led by former president Yusufu Lule. Opposed to Milton Obote's government, the group fought in the Ugandan Bush War. By early 1981, the group was based i ...

(UFF). Museveni, then leader of the

Uganda Patriotic Movement The Uganda Patriotic Movement is a defunct political party in Uganda. It was founded by Yoweri Museveni and participated in the December 1980 general elections, which were won by Milton Obote's Uganda People's Congress. The election results were ...

party, alleged electoral fraud and declared an armed rebellion, following the victory of Uganda Peoples Congress in the bitterly disputed 1980 general election."A Country Study: The Second Obote Regime: 1981–85"
''

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

Country Studies'' Museveni, who had guerrilla war experience with the Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO) in Mozambique, and his own

Front for National Salvation 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 (led by Mi ...

(FRONASA) formed in Tanzania to fight

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...

, led the NRA to victory against Ugandan government troops ( UNLA) in 1986. By the time that the victorious NRA entered

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

in 1986, about a quarter of its 16,000 combatants were Banyarwanda, while

Fred Rwigema Fred Gisa Rwigyema (also sometimes spelled Rwigema; born Emmanuel Gisa; 10 April 1957 – 2 October 1990) was a Rwandan politician and military officer. He was the founder of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a political and military force f ...

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. The attacks largely targeted the Acholi people and were in part seen as a form of revenge for

Operation Bonanza Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

, the scorched-earth operation there that had been ordered by

during his presidency. From 1986 to 1990, the Museveni regime tried to end various insurgencies and to establish control over the army.Library of Congress
The Rise of the National Resistance Army
accessed February 2009 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 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 A ...

(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 The Uganda People's Democratic Army (UPDA) was a rebel group operating in northern Uganda from March 1986 to June 1988. In January 1986, the government of Ugandan President Tito Okello was overthrown by the rebel National Resistance Army (NRA) ...

(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 The Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF), previously known as the National Resistance Army, is the armed forces of Uganda. From 2007 to 2011, the International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated the UPDF had a total strength of 40,000–4 ...

References

External links

The Anquish of Nortern Uganda
by the

United States Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 b ...

{{Authority control Guerrilla organizations Rebel groups in Uganda National Resistance Movement Military wings of political parties