SUMMARY
UNRF (Ugandan National Rescue Front, sometimes called National Salvation Front, Northern Regiment or Nile Regiment) was a rebel group active in the conflict over government power in Uganda in the early 1980s. The origin of the group was closely related to the fall of former president Idi Amin in April 1979. During Amin’s years in power 1971-79, the army had been fraught by ethnic manipulations and purges, leaving it largely made up by soldiers originating in Amin’s own home area, the West Nile District in the north-western part of the country. Subsequently, when the victorious UNLF together with troops from Tanzania entered Kampala, the former government army fled towards the West Nile and was eventually forced to retreat into Sudan and Zaire. During 1980, these remnants of Idi Amin’s army re-organized as FUNA and the following year UNRF was created as a splinter from the former. There were a number of different reasons for the split, with the most commonly cited ones being leadership squabbles and more generally tensions over defining the leadership of the group more clearly. While the group did not release any statement regarding its goals when it was formed, it eventually began to present itself as a democratic group with a civilian leadership fighting to overthrow dictatorship.
As FUNA – the group from which UNRF split in 1981 – was mainly made up of soldiers from Idi Amin’s former army, it had its ethnic base among the two ethnic groups primarily associated with Amin’s rule, the Aringas and the Kakwas; while Amin himself was a Kakwa, his vice-president was an Aringa. The two ethnic groups inhabit neighboring areas in the West Nile, just on the border with DR Congo (at the time Zaire) and Southern Sudan (at the time Sudan). The 1981 split occurred along ethnic lines, with the Aringa contingent of FUNA breaking away and forming UNRF. Aside from Aringa, the group also included large contingents of Madi and Lubara people, both of which also have their home area in the West Nile region.
UNRF was officially led by former Amin Finance Minister Moses Ali. However, Ali was not present in Uganda at the time, but in exile in Pakistan, where he mobilized external support and resources. Some sources claim that Major Amin Onzi was the de facto leader on the ground, and another often-mentioned prominent member of the group was Colonel Emilio Mondo, Idi Amin's former secretary of defense. The exact size of the group was not known; estimates range between 3000 and as much as 10 000 for the years when it was active in fighting the government.
While UNRF’s general area of operation was the West Nile region, its geographical focus within the region shifted as its luck in the conflict changed. In 1981 and 1982, the group controlled most of the northern part of the region, aside from some of the main towns. Some sources claim that UNRF even came close to controlling the West Nile capital Arua. However, in late 1982, the government’s so-called “Christmas offensive” forced the group to leave most of the areas under its control. UNRF was pushed northwards and withdrew to Mount Kei in the northwestern part of the region, near the Sudanese border. By late 1983, the group had lost all territories that it previously controlled.
At the time of the birth of UNRF, Uganda as a whole was going through a very turbulent period, and UNRF co-existed with numerous other armed challengers to the government. Despite this, and probably due to the disparate nature of the organizations, there was very little coordination between them. However, UNRF was involved in one attempt at coordinating the armed struggle. In 1981, the leadership of the group met with fellow rebel groups NRA and UFM under the sponsorship and Chairmanship of the Libyan leader Col. Gaddafi. The talks led to the signing of the Tripoli Agreement, under which the Ugandan Popular Front was formed as an umbrella organization intended to unite the three movements. However, Ugandan Popular Front failed to materialize on the ground, and UNRF, NRA and UFM subsequently simply opted to maintain good relations. Aside from this attempt at collaboration with other rebel groups, UNRF may also have received material assistance from Libya. There were reports of arms shipment in favor of the West Nile rebels, but this was in 1981, and “the West Nile rebels” may also have referred to FUNA. Furthermore, UNRF received support from the government of Sudan, which granted the group access to its territory.
In August 1985, UNRF briefly joined the Military Council that ruled Uganda between August 1985 and January 1986. For a short period in the fall of 1985, the group thus ceased to exist as an independent entity in UCDP data. However, when president Tito Okello wanted to deploy UNRF forces to fight NRA, the former withdrew from the government due to their previous understanding with NRA. In January 1986, when NRA seized power in Uganda, UNRF joined the new NRA government, and with that became part of the government of Uganda and ceased to exist as an independent entity in UCDP data.
