Armed attacks intermittently are carried out in Uganda. According to multiple sources including the BBC, armed attacks were carried out in a school in western Uganda leading to the death of more than forty. The Ugandan officials blamed the Allied Democratic Forces, which operates and carries out armed attacks in the Democratic Republic of Congo and several other countries including Uganda, for the latest attack. Though the group has not yet acknowledged the claim, it has been carrying out many attacks for years in different areas of Uganda, a landlocked country in eastern Africa, and killed thousands of people. Along with armed attacks of the ADF, there are conflicts and tensions with other groups, though they reduced recently.
It is pertinently notable that Uganda has been experiencing intermittent armed violence since its achievement of independence from the United Kingdom in 1962 and there are many factors that are responsible for armed violence and ethnic tensions. Currently, armed conflicts are going on between the government and several armed groups including the Lord’s Resistance Army — a Ugandan rebel group that originated in 1987 in northern Uganda — and the ADF, a rebel group founded in the early 1990s. Additionally, tensions between ethnic groups, which have led to armed violence and the displacement of many, are going on in several areas in the Kasese district of the western region. Power struggles are definitely an important factor in armed conflicts in Uganda. Political instability, poverty and competition among ethnic and linguistic groups for resources and easy access to small arms also play crucial roles in armed conflicts and tensions. Among other causes, regional conflicts facilitate armed conflicts in Uganda.
Efforts have definitely been made to reduce armed conflicts in the country. The Ugandan government has taken both military and non-military measures. The military has recently intensified its operations against the rebel groups and their supply lines. Additionally, the government has carried out dialogues with local ethnic communities to mitigate the root causes of armed conflicts and worked with regional actors to strengthen cross-border security cooperation and intelligence sharing. But the existing efforts have several flaws. Government efforts, which are mostly reactive than proactive, are largely military operation based. Among others, less emphasis is given to addressing root causes and increasing investment in development programs. Consequently, armed conflicts and insecurity, though reduced in recent years, have been going on in Uganda.
It is desired that armed attacks from rebel groups are ended and conflicts among ethnic groups are addressed. The Ugandan government needs to sustain the existing efforts. But the control of cross-border arms trafficking definitely needs to be given emphasis. The demobilization of armed groups also needs to be emphasized. But talks with rebel groups — along with ethnic armed groups — may help the government to reduce armed attacks in the country. All the parties definitely need to have good intentions to reduce armed conflicts in Uganda. In the peace process, the participation of civil society organizations, religious leaders and other groups may be helpful. But regional cooperation is also imperative to ending armed conflicts in the country.
Amir M Sayem
Chief Editor
Dhaka Opinion Magazine
