- 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 PresidentTito Okello was overthrown by the rebelNational Resistance Army (NRA) under the command ofYoweri Museveni , which took the capital city ofKampala . By March 1986, NRA forces had occupied the traditional land of the Acholis, from which President Okello came. In the same month, former governmentUganda National Liberation Army soldiers fromAcholiland who had sought sanctuary in southernSudan formed the rebel Uganda People's Democratic Army to force the NRA out of the North and regain the Acholi's previous status.In August 1986, UPDA forces attacked government forces in the North with widespread popular support by the Acholi populace. While occupying NRA units had acted with more restraint than had been generally expected of them, they reacted with increasing brutality towards the population and rebels after the fighting began. Perhaps most notable was the massacre of 45 Acholi civilians by FEDEMU, formerly a small anti-Okello rebel group from the Luwero Triangle that had just been incorporated into the NRA, after the UPDA attacked the FEDEMU position. Such atrocities only encouraged the Acholi populace to support the rebellion.
Nevertheless, by late 1986, the UPDA had proved unable to retake towns, though it controlled much of the countryside, and was clearly losing. Many rebels deserted, and smaller units spun off into semi-banditry. Many Acholi refused to accept the logical conclusion that resistance was futile and began to support the
Holy Spirit Movement ofAlice Auma , which promised a millenarian vision of earthly paradise or similar chiliastic groups that had sprung up, including the rebel group led byJoseph Kony that would become theLord's Resistance Army .After a year of increasingly desperate operations, including fierce battles among the various Acholi rebel groups for resources, the UPDA signed an accord with the government on
3 June 1988 that called for an end to the conflict and a democratic government. The negotiations were exceptional in that they were carried out by military officers of the UPDA and NRA. The political wing of the UPDA and theNational Resistance Movement were excluded from the talks. While UPDA Supreme CommanderOdong Latek refused to accept the accord and joined theLord's Resistance Army , most UPDA officers realized that their military situation was hopeless and, by early 1989, the UPDA had ceased to exist."The acronyms of the Uganda People's Democratic Army (UPDA) and the
Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF) could be confused. The UPDF is the renamedNational Resistance Army ."
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