The Uganda People's Democratic Army (UPDA) was a rebel group operating in northern Uganda from March 1986 to June 1988.

In January, 1986, the government of Ugandan President Tito Okello was overthrown by the rebel National Resistance Army (NRA) under the command of Yoweri Museveni, which took the capital city of Kampala. By March 1986, NRA forces had occupied the traditional land of the Acholis, from which President Okello came. In the same month, former government soldiers from Acholiland who had sought sanctuary in southern Sudan formed the rebel Uganda People's Democratic Army to force the NRA out of the North and regain the Acholi's previous status. Look up January in Wiktionary, the free dictionary January is the first month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Tito Okello (1914 - June 3, 1996) was the leader of Uganda from July 1985 until January 1986. ... The National Resistance Army (NRA) began as a guerilla army of Uganda in the 1980s, led by Yoweri Museveni. ... Yoweri Kaguta Museveni became President of Uganda on January 29, 1986. ... Location of Kampala within Uganda. ... Acholiland, Uganda Children in an IDP camp in Kitgum The Acholi are an ethnolinguistic group of the upper Nile valley dwelling on the east bank of the White Nile, about a hundred miles north of Lake Albert. ... Categories: Stub | Uganda ...

In August 1986, UPDA forces attacked government forces in the North with widespread popular support by the Acholi populace. While occupying NRA units had acted with more restraint than had been generally expected of them, they reacted with increasing brutality towards the population and rebels after the fighting began. Perhaps most notable was the massacre of 45 Acholi civilians by FEDEMU, formerly a small anti-Okello rebel group from the Luwero Triangle that had just been incorporated into the NRA, after the UPDA attacked the FEDEMU position. Such atrocities only encouraged the Acholi populace to support the rebellion.

Nevertheless, by late 1986, the UPDA had proved unable to retake towns, though it controlled much of the countryside, and was clearly losing. Many rebels deserted, and smaller units spun off into semi-banditry. Many Acholi refused to accept the logical conclusion that resistance was futile and began to support the Holy Spirit Movement of Alice Auma, which promised a millenarian vision of earthly paradise or similar chiliastic groups that had sprung up, including the rebel group led by Joseph Kony that would become the Lord's Resistance Army. The Holy Spirit Movement (HSM) was the Ugandan rebel group led by Alice Auma, a spirit-medium under the direction of the spirit Lakwena. ... Book cover with photo Alice Auma (b. ... Kony has terrorised the North of Uganda. ... The conflict forces many civilians to live in internally displaced person (IDP) camps. ...

After a year of increasingly desperate operations, including fierce battles among the various Acholi rebel groups for resources, the UPDA signed an accord with the government on 3 June 1988 that called for an end to the conflict and a democratic government. The negotiations were exceptional in that they were carried out by military officers of the UPDA and NRA. The political wing of the UPDA and the National Resistance Movement were excluded from the talks. While UPDA Supreme Commander Odong Latek refused to accept the accord and joined the Lord's Resistance Army, most UPDA officers realized that their military situation was hopeless and, by early 1989, the UPDA had ceased to exist. June 3 is the 154th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (155th in leap years), with 211 days remaining. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The National Resistance Movement is a political organization in Uganda. ... The conflict forces many civilians to live in internally displaced person (IDP) camps. ...

The acronyms of the Uganda People's Democratic Army (UPDA) and the Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF) could be confused. The UPDF is the renamed National Resistance Army. The Uganda Peoples Defence Force (UPDF), previously the National Resistance Army, constitutes the armed forces of Uganda. ... The National Resistance Army (NRA) began as a guerilla army of Uganda in the 1980s, led by Yoweri Museveni. ...