SUMMARY
FRUD (Front pour la restauration de l’unité et de la démocratie, or Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy) was an armed group active in the Djiboutian conflict over government. FRUD’s primary goal was to overthrow the Government of Djibouti, claiming that President Hassan Gouled Aptidon was running a “tribal dictatorship”. Furthermore, the group accused the government of refusing to engage in a dialogue on how the country could move towards democracy; FRUD also sought the implementation of a multiparty system. FRUD claimed to represent the Afar ethnic minority group, which comprises around one third of Djibouti’s population. The Afar reside primarily in the arid regions of northern Djibouti, where most either a nomadic lifestyle, or reside in small oasis towns. The group was largely excluded from political power, which was concentrated in the Issa clan of the majority Somali ethnic group; President Gouled came from one of the Issa sub-clans.
FRUD was created on 12 August 1991, following the merger of three Afar armed groups: AROD (Action pour Rèvision de l’Ordre à Djibouti, or Action for Revision of Order in Djibouti), FRDE (Front por la Réstaruration du Droit et l’Egalité, or Front for the Resoration of Rights and Equality), and FRPD (Front de la Résistance Patriotique de Djibouti, or Djibouti Patriotic Resistance Front). All three of FRUD’s constituent factions had been created earlier in 1991; of the three, AROD was the most prominent. “President” Mohamed Adoyta Ahmed (the leader of AROD) led FRUD until August 1992, when he was replaced by Ahmed Dini Ahmed. Dini was a veteran Djiboutian politician who had served as prime minister under President Gouled 1977-78. Adoyta remained as the group’s first vice president. In 1991, it was estimated that FRUD had around 3000 fighters; by 1994, this number had increased to 4500.
In 1994, a leadership struggle erupted within FRUD as it was announced that “President” Dini had been removed from his position and replaced with an “Executive Committee”, which was led by Ougoureh Kifle Ahmed. In June, Ali Mohamed Daoud formally replaced Dini as president. FRUD’s new leadership favored talks with the government, which eventually caused a split within the group. A hardline faction, led by Dini, broke away from the group to create FRUD-C.
On 26 December 1994, FRUD and the Government of Djibouti signed the “Agreement for Peace and National Reconciliation”. The peace agreement stipulated that FRUD would become a legal political party, and that is top political officials should be incorporated into the state administration; for example, FRUD leader Daoud was made Minister of Health and Social Affairs. FRUD was also transformed into a political party, that allied itself with President Gouled’s RPP (Rassemblement populaire pour le Progrès, or People’s Rally for Progress) party. FRUD’s fighters were to be integrated into the national armed forces. As such, FRUD ceased to exist as a separate non-state actor in the UCDP data after the signing of the 1995 peace agreement.
