People's Redemption Army (PRA) is a

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 south ...

n rebel group whose existence is disputed. The

Government of Uganda Uganda is a presidential republic in which the President of Uganda is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government business. There is a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is ...

has asserted its existence for several years, although it has occasionally called the rebel group "dormant". The rebel group is allegedly based in the eastern

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

(DRC Congo), founded by renegade

n army officers, and estimated (in 2004) to consist of around 2,000 rebels. In December 2004, Ugandan army deployed troops along the border with DRC Congo, saying that the rebel group was preparing to attack Uganda.Uganda deploys troops along on Congo border
''People's Daily Online'', 2 December 2004 The leader of the main opposition party

Forum for Democratic Change The Forum for Democratic Change ( sw, Jukwaa la Mabadiliko ya Kidemokrasia; FDC), founded on 16 December 2004, is the main opposition party in Uganda. The FDC was founded as an umbrella body called Reform Agenda, mostly for disenchanted former m ...

(FDC) and the main contender for the presidency in the

2006 Elections The following elections occurred in the year 2006. * Elections in 2006 * Electoral calendar 2006 * 2006 Acehnese regional election * 2006 American Samoan legislative election * 2006 Bahraini parliamentary election * 2006 Costa Rican presidenti ...

Kizza Besigye Warren Kizza Besigye Kifefe (born 22 April 1956), known as Colonel. Dr. Kizza Besigye, is a Ugandan physician, politician, and former military officer in the Uganda People's Defence Force. He served as the president of the Forum for Democrati ...

, was arrested on November 14, 2005, accused of being the "political leader of the PRA", sparking demonstrations and violent riots in his support. Besigye denied any links with PRA, and accused the government of conjuring up the rebel group.Riots erupt after treason charge
''Times Online'', 15 November 2005 On November 9, 2005, the

UN Special Representative A Special Representative of the Secretary-General is a highly respected expert who has been appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General, Secretary-General of the United Nations to represent them in meetings with heads of state on critical huma ...

to Democratic Republic of the Congo,

William Lacy Swing William Lacy Swing (September 11, 1934 – June 12, 2021) was a diplomat and former United States Ambassador, and United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Under Secretary General. He was the Director-General of the In ...

, implicated PRA as one of the foreign armed groups operating in eastern DRC Congo.Press conference on Democratic Republic of Congo
''UN DPI'', 6 October 2005 FDC then petitioned the UN, protesting the statement. An FDC representative said, "The statement by Swing, which alleges the existence of a shadowy rebel movement, has caused consternation and widespread concern, even antipathy towards the United Nations, among the people of Uganda," and added that "Specifically, the people of Uganda would like to know the strength, location, leadership and financiers of the PRA, if in fact such a group does exist".FDC appeals to Annan
, ''New Vision'', 16 November 2005 A Uganda army spokesman said on November 16, 2005 that the army was deployed to help the police with the riots that followed

's arrest, and that security had been increased at all borders because "We know PRA exists and are likely to attack". In April 2006, the Rwandan president,

Paul Kagame Paul Kagame (; born 23 October 1957) is a Rwandan politician and former military officer who is the 4th and current president of Rwanda since 2000. He previously served as a commander of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a Uganda-based rebe ...

, said that a lot has been talked about the PRA and its links with Rwanda, but that the PRA is fictitious and the creation of the Ugandan government.Uganda (LRA) timeline
{{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060225190401/http://acd.iiss.org/armedconflict/MainPages/dsp_ConflictTimeline.asp?ConflictID=200&YearID=918 , date=2006-02-25 , ''IISS Armed Conflict Database''

References

Rebel groups in Uganda Political organisations based in Uganda