The Uganda National Rescue Front (UNRF), refers to two former armed rebel groups in

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The ...

West Nile sub-region West Nile sub-region, previously known as West Nile Province and West Nile District, is a sub-region in north-western Uganda, in the Northern Region of Uganda. Location The sub-region is bordered by the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the s ...

that first opposed, then became incorporated into the Ugandan armed forces.

UNRF

The first Uganda National Rescue Front, also known as "National Salvation Front", was formed to oppose

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 ...

during his second term (1980–1985) as president of Uganda. The UNRF was composed of former supporters of

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 ...

, and headed by Brigadier

Moses Ali Moses Ali (born 5 April 1939) is a Ugandan politician and retired military officer. He is the Second Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Leader of Government Business in Parliament. He previously served in the Cabinet of Uganda as Third Deputy Prime ...

, formerly Amin's Minister of Finance. After the fall of Obote in July 1984/5, over 1000 of the UNRF joined

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 ...

's government.

Luwero Luweero is a town in the Central Region of Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative, and commercial center of Luweero District. History In 1982, in the Ugandan Civil War, Milton Obote's soldiers raided their village, from Kampala. Loca ...

Moses Ali held a large number and variety of positions in Museveni's government, including Minister of Tourism and Wildlif

and Minister of Youth, Culture and Sport. In April 1990 he was arrested on treason charges, and incarcerated until June 1992, when he was released and acquitted

This did not prevent his later being appointed Minister of Internal Affairs, Minister for Disaster Preparedness, and Deputy Prime Minister.

UNRF II

The Uganda National Rescue Front II was a group that broke from the West Nile Bank Front in 1996, and included members of the original UNRF that did not make peace with Museveni. It operated mostly in Aringa County,

Arua District Arua District is a district in the Northern Region of Uganda. Like many other Ugandan districts, it shares its name with its administrative center of Arua. The name Arua is said to be derived from the Lugbara name for prison (Arujo) and prisoner ...

, out of bases in southern

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

, and received support from the Sudanese government (the

National Islamic Front The National Islamic Front ( ar, الجبهة الإسلامية القومية; transliterated: ''al-Jabhah al-Islamiyah al-Qawmiyah'') was an Islamist political organization founded in 1976 and led by Dr. Hassan al-Turabi that influenced th ...

), in retaliation for Ugandan government support for the

Sudan People's Liberation Army The South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF), formerly the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), is the army of the Republic of South Sudan. The SPLA was founded as a guerrilla movement against the government of Sudan in 1983 and was a ...

. It was led by Major General Ali Bamuze. On December 24, 2002, the UNRF II signed a formal

ceasefire A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state ac ...

with the government in the town of

Yumbe Yumbe is a town in the Northern Region of Uganda. It is the district headquarters of Yumbe District. Location Yumbe is approximately , by road, northeast of Arua, the largest city in the West Nile sub-region. Yumbe is approximately , by road, no ...

in northwestern Uganda. Terms included a battalion of UNRF II soldiers being incorporated in the Ugandan army, and USh 4.2 billion being distributed to the group. Moses Ali is reported to have participated in the negotiations.

References

Uganda signs peace deal with rebels
26 December 2002, BBC News.
Uganda January - December 2002
report from

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and s ...

.
Gen. Moses Ali: A dream come true
By Richard M. Kavuma March 23, 2003 Uganda Daily Monitor article
Rebels divided over Shs 4 bn
December 10, 2003 article from the Uganda Daily Monitor * ''Inside West Nile'', , 2004 book by Mark Leopold.

Works cited

* {{cite book, last1 = Avirgan, first1 = Tony, author-link=Tony Avirgan , last2 = Honey, first2 = Martha, author2-link=Martha Honey, title = War in Uganda: The Legacy of Idi Amin, location= Dar es Salaam, publisher = Tanzania Publishing House, date = 1983, isbn = 978-9976-1-0056-3 Rebel groups in Uganda Government of Uganda