War in Uganda (1986–1994)
Period of mass insurgency in Uganda between 1986 and 1994 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 (which later became the Lord's Resistance 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.
War in Uganda (1986–1994) | |||||||
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Rebel groups during the 1986–1994 war. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
North Korea[1] |
UPDA UPA HSM (Auma) HSM (Lukoya) HSM (Ojuk) UUGM HSM (Kony), UHSA, UPDCA, LA, LRA FOBA NALU WNBF FUNA UNDA, UFA NOM Tablighi Jamaat militants (including UMFF) Supported by: Zaire (only western rebels) Kenya[lower-alpha 1] Sudan[4] | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Yoweri Museveni Fred Rwigyema[5] David Tinyefuza[6] |
Justine Odong Latek † (UPDA, UHSA, UPDCA) Eric Otema-Allimadi (UPDA) Peter Otai (UPA) Francis "Hitler" Eregu (UPA) Alice Auma (HSM) Severino Lukoya (POW) (HSM) Philip Ojuk (HSM) Otunu Lukonyomoi † (UUGM) Joseph Kony (HSM, UHSA, UPDCA, LA, LRA) Amon Bazira † (NALU) Juma Oris (WNBF) Sam Luwero (UNDA) Charles Barau (UFA) | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
20,000 (1986)[7] 90,000 (1992)[5] |
UPDA: 15,000[8]–Tens of thousands (1986)[9] c. 3,000 (1988, NRA estimate)[8] HSM (Auma): 7,000–10,000 (Jan. 1987)[10] Kony's force: 1,000[11]–Thousands (1988)[12] c. 300 (mid-1993) | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
High civilian losses |
By 1994, the HSM and UPDA had disintegrated, the UPA had been reduced to small splinter groups, and Joseph Kony and his forces were at least weakened. However, the situation in the entire region drastically shifted in that year, as outside powers intervened and began to fund insurgencies to topple Museveni. In turn, Uganda was drawn into cross-border conflicts in Zaire and Sudan. These developments resulted in a resurgence of insurgent activity in northern Uganda. Several groups which emerged during the 1986–1994 conflict, including Kony's Lord's Resistance Army, continue their insurgencies to the present day.