Origin of Uganda Civil War in Africa and its Consequences to Ugandan Development This Uganda Civil War Page shows you how Uganda has been fighting since independence. There are many groups which have been fighting for what they call marginalization of their rights. On this page we bring you all the civil wars that had ever been fought in Uganda and may be you will know why Uganda still lags behind in terms of development. Uganda Civil war has continued in Northern for over 20 years.Uganda suffered from civil unrest since the early 1980s. Hundreds of people were killed in the rebellion against the Ugandan government, and an estimated 400.000 people were left homeless. On this page we will only concentrate on the current Uganda civil war.To understand more on Uganda civil war, we have compiled more information on the history of civil war in Uganda since independence up to present day.Click on any of the following for more • The First Obote Regime: The Growth of the Military • The Second Obote Regime: Repression Continues • The Rise of the National Resistance Army • Allied Democratic Forces National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (NALU) • The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) itself and Uganda civil war Al Shabaab Terrorist From Somalia President Yoweri Museveni used Uganda's military to battle the two main rebel groups, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). Thousands of children fell victim to this war - abducted by both the LRA and the ADF to serve as fighters or porters. As Uganda civil war between the Government of Uganda (GOU) forces and armed insurgent groups intensified in late 1996, the GOU military began encouraging rural people in affected areas to move into protective camps. However, the military provided only a short period for the move and undertook little preparation for the influx of people to the protective camps. Uganda's economy also suffered, with billions of dollars of the government's budget going to the military. The instability from the Uganda civil war, and growing domestic and international pressure to find a way to stop the fighting, apparently prompted President Museveni to back away from the military option and look for a political solution. In February 2003, Sudan agreed to let troops from neighboring Uganda enter its territory to attack the LRA rebels who had been trying for years to overthrow the Ugandan government. The Ugandan army called on the LRA to surrender or be defeated. Ugandan officials said the agreement gave them what they had long been waiting for - the chance to eliminate the LRA. The agreement set the stage for a decisive blow against rebels and end this unending Uganda civil war. By early 2003 optimism was growing that the years of fighting in northern Uganda may soon come to an end. Rebels of the LRA declared a cease-fire and say they wanted to hold talks with the government of Yoweri Museveni. The pledge by the LRA to cease all ambushes, abductions and attacks has been welcomed by the Uganda government.
The LRA was in a tight corner after its bases in southern Sudan, just over the border from northern Uganda, had been destroyed by Ugandan troops following an agreement with the Sudanese government. The rebels' main sources of food and military supplies were now back home in northern Uganda and, which made them much more vulnerable to attacks by government troops. Then in June 2003, Kony told his fighters to destroy Catholic missions, kill priests and missionaries, and beat up nuns. In January 2004 Ugandan Defense Minister Amama Mbabazi said that the government had killed 928 LRA rebels between Jan. 1, 2003 and Jan. 16, 2004. Speaking at a monthly press briefing in Bombo, suburb of Kampala, Minister Mbabazi said 791 rebels were either captured by the army or surrendered during "Operation Iron Fist" which expected to end Uganda civil war. He said the army rescued 7,299 people abducted by the rebels. He also said 88 army soldiers died in the combat, 141 others were injured and four went missing during the period. In May 2004 a report by the aid organisation, Christian Aid, condemned what it described as a shirking of the government's responsibilities to protect the people of the north "borne out of a lack of will". It accused the government of herding civilians into camps ostensibly to protect them from the LRA without offering those living in camps the protection they needed. The Ugandan government rejected the report, saying the report was "completely unfair". Rebels of the LRA attacked a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in war-ravaged northern Uganda on 16 May 2004, killing scores of people and abducting others. A group of rebels attacked Pagak displaced people's camp in three prongs: one attacked the camp, a second one attacked the soldiers guarding it and the third one concentrated on the patrol units. The group that attacked the camp set ablaze dozens of grass-thatched huts to create confusion, then looted food and abducted people whom they forced to carry their loot for a distance before they killed them along with their babies. Several UN agencies, including UNICEF and the Food and Agricultural Organization, are expected to increase their presence in northern Uganda, provided the government is able to provide adequate security. In October 2005, the International Criminal Court (ICC), based in The Hauge, announced arrest warrants for Joseph Kony and four of his top deputies. The charges ranged from the mutilation of civilians to the forced abduction of and sexual abuse of children. Some Ugandans voiced concern over whether the warrants would undermine the peace process by forcing the LRA leaders into a situation where they must either face trail at The Hauge or continue fighting. In July 2006, LRA representatives were participating in a series of peace talks with the Ugandan government in neighboring Southern Sudan . The LRA representatives present did not include Josephy Kony who was believed to be hiding in the Democratic Republic of Congo to avoid prosecution for Uganda civil war crimes. While the LRA representatives present wished to portray the group as freedom fighters against President Museveni system of patronage and discrimination against the Acholi tribe, the LRA has largely alienated themselves from the Ugandan population through their use of brutal tactics, even against the members of the Acholi tribe who they claim to fight on behalf of.
Some international observers thought a peace deal was going to be reached in October 2006. LRA leaders (though not Kony) met with GOU negotiators in the town of Juba in Southern Sudan. However, the talks broke down relatively quickly as both sides violated their predetermined conditions of the negotiation. LRA forces moved from their designated area along the Sudanese-Ugandan border and GOU forces assembled in unauthorized portions of Northern Uganda. The talks were also at an impasse. The main discussion was about the charges brought on Kony and four LRA leaders by the ICC. The LRA claimed they would sign a peace deal after the charges were dropped, while GOU negotiators demanded that a peace deal be in place before they discussed dropping the charges. History » The Uganda Protectorate • History » The Uganda Protectorate » Growth of a peasant economy • History » The Uganda Protectorate » Political and administrative development • History » The Uganda Protectorate » World War II and its aftermath • History » The Republic of Uganda » Tyranny under Amin • History » The Republic of Uganda » Obote’s second presidency The First Obote Regime: The Growth of the Military Idi Amin and Military Rule and civil wars The Second Obote Regime: Repression Continues |
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