Latest news with #IdiAmin
San Francisco Chronicle
a day ago
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
An attack on a Congolese church killed nearly 40 worshippers. Here's what to know
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nearly 40 people were killed Sunday in eastern Congo's Ituri province when rebels stormed a Catholic church during a vigil and opened fire on worshippers, including many women and children. At least 38 people were confirmed dead in the church while another five were killed in a nearby village. The victims included 19 men, 15 women and nine children. The attacks in Komanda town in the conflict-battered region were carried out by the Allied Democratic Force, a rebel group backed by the Islamic State that has mostly targeted villagers in eastern Congo and across the border in Uganda, the Congolese army said. The ADF arose from tensions in neighboring Uganda The ADF has roots in Uganda in the 1990s. Following the overthrow of long-term dictator, Idi Amin, a coalition of various discontent groups saw the new government of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni as anti-Muslim. Since then, the group has grown into a potent force but has been pushed out of Uganda's territories and now operates in the borderlands between Uganda and Congo, often targeting civilians in remote villages. ADF leaders pledged allegiance in 2019 to the Islamic State and have sought to establish an Islamic caliphate in Uganda. Eastern Congo has been beleaguered by protracted conflicts for decades, dating back to the Rwanda genocide in 1994. The conflicts have involved more than a hundred armed groups, according to the United Nations. The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group is the most prominent and launched a blitz of attacks in January in a major escalation culiminating in its capture of two key cities in the region. The Congolese and Ugandan armies have targeted the ADF in a joint military effort but analysts say it has done little, even as the rebels attack civilians. 'These joint operations have only succeeded in dispersing the ADF without really protecting civilians from their wrathful reprisals,' said Onesphore Sematumba, the Congo analyst at the International Crisis Group. This presents complex headaches for the overstretched Congolese army, which is occupied with advances by M23 and other rebel groups in the mineral-rich region. 'The ADF is taking more or less the advantage of the Congolese army's and international diplomacy's focus on the M23 further south without attracting too much attention,' Sematumba said. Attack targeted worshippers at midnight The church attack Sunday was the latest in a series of deadly ADF assaults on civilians, including earlier this month when the group killed 66 people in Ituri province. The attack happened July 11 around 1 a.m. during a vigil at a Catholic church in Komanda, civil society leaders and survivors. It followed an attack a few hours earlier in the nearby village of Machongani, where five people were killed and houses razed. The attackers were believed to have come from a stronghold about 12 kilometers (7 miles) from Komanda and fled before security forces arrived. Attack expected to worsen situation The attack Sunday has sent shockwaves around the Central African country, which is currently embroiled in numerous conflicts. The Congolese government condemned it as 'horrific" while the military described it as a 'large-scale massacre' carried out in revenge for recent security operations targeting the ADF. However, M23 used the attack to accuse the governemnt of 'blatant incompetence' in attempts to protect citizens.
The Hill
a day ago
- Politics
- The Hill
An attack on a Congolese church killed nearly 40 worshippers. Here's what to know
LAGOS, Nigeria. (AP) — Nearly 40 people were killed Sunday in eastern Congo's Ituri province when rebels stormed a Catholic church during a vigil and opened fire on worshippers, including many women and children. At least 38 people were confirmed dead in the church while another five were killed in a nearby village. The victims included 19 men, 15 women and nine children. The attacks in Komanda town in the conflict-battered region were carried out by the Allied Democratic Force, a rebel group backed by the Islamic State that has mostly targeted villagers in eastern Congo and across the border in Uganda, the Congolese army said. The ADF arose from tensions in neighboring Uganda The ADF has roots in Uganda in the 1990s. Following the overthrow of long-term dictator, Idi Amin, a coalition of various discontent groups saw the new government of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni as anti-Muslim. Since then, the group has grown into a potent force but has been pushed out of Uganda's territories and now operates in the borderlands between Uganda and Congo, often targeting civilians in remote villages. ADF leaders pledged allegiance in 2019 to the Islamic State and have sought to establish an Islamic caliphate in Uganda. Rebels complicate conflicts in eastern Congo Eastern Congo has been beleaguered by protracted conflicts for decades, dating back to the Rwanda genocide in 1994. The conflicts have involved more than a hundred armed groups, according to the United Nations. The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group is the most prominent and launched a blitz of attacks in January in a major escalation culiminating in its capture of two key cities in the region. The Congolese and Ugandan armies have targeted the ADF in a joint military effort but analysts say it has done little, even as the rebels attack civilians. 'These joint operations have only succeeded in dispersing the ADF without really protecting civilians from their wrathful reprisals,' said Onesphore Sematumba, the Congo analyst at the International Crisis Group. This presents complex headaches for the overstretched Congolese army, which is occupied with advances by M23 and other rebel groups in the mineral-rich region. 'The ADF is taking more or less the advantage of the Congolese army's and international diplomacy's focus on the M23 further south without attracting too much attention,' Sematumba said. Attack targeted worshippers at midnight The church attack Sunday was the latest in a series of deadly ADF assaults on civilians, including earlier this month when the group killed 66 people in Ituri province. The attack happened July 11 around 1 a.m. during a vigil at a Catholic church in Komanda, civil society leaders and survivors. It followed an attack a few hours earlier in the nearby village of Machongani, where five people were killed and houses razed. The attackers were believed to have come from a stronghold about 12 kilometers (7 miles) from Komanda and fled before security forces arrived. Attack expected to worsen situation The attack Sunday has sent shockwaves around the Central African country, which is currently embroiled in numerous conflicts. The Congolese government condemned it as 'horrific' while the military described it as a 'large-scale massacre' carried out in revenge for recent security operations targeting the ADF. However, M23 used the attack to accuse the governemnt of 'blatant incompetence' in attempts to protect citizens. The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the country, MONUSCO, said the chuch killings will 'exacerbate an already extremely worrying humanitarian situation in the province.'
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
An attack on a Congolese church killed nearly 40 worshippers. Here's what to know
LAGOS, Nigeria. (AP) — Nearly 40 people were killed Sunday in eastern Congo's Ituri province when rebels stormed a Catholic church during a vigil and opened fire on worshippers, including many women and children. At least 38 people were confirmed dead in the church while another five were killed in a nearby village. The victims included 19 men, 15 women and nine children. The attacks in Komanda town in the conflict-battered region were carried out by the Allied Democratic Force, a rebel group backed by the Islamic State that has mostly targeted villagers in eastern Congo and across the border in Uganda, the Congolese army said. The ADF arose from tensions in neighboring Uganda The ADF has roots in Uganda in the 1990s. Following the overthrow of long-term dictator, Idi Amin, a coalition of various discontent groups saw the new government of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni as anti-Muslim. Since then, the group has grown into a potent force but has been pushed out of Uganda's territories and now operates in the borderlands between Uganda and Congo, often targeting civilians in remote villages. ADF leaders pledged allegiance in 2019 to the Islamic State and have sought to establish an Islamic caliphate in Uganda. Rebels complicate conflicts in eastern Congo Eastern Congo has been beleaguered by protracted conflicts for decades, dating back to the Rwanda genocide in 1994. The conflicts have involved more than a hundred armed groups, according to the United Nations. The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group is the most prominent and launched a blitz of attacks in January in a major escalation culiminating in its capture of two key cities in the region. The Congolese and Ugandan armies have targeted the ADF in a joint military effort but analysts say it has done little, even as the rebels attack civilians. 'These joint operations have only succeeded in dispersing the ADF without really protecting civilians from their wrathful reprisals,' said Onesphore Sematumba, the Congo analyst at the International Crisis Group. This presents complex headaches for the overstretched Congolese army, which is occupied with advances by M23 and other rebel groups in the mineral-rich region. 'The ADF is taking more or less the advantage of the Congolese army's and international diplomacy's focus on the M23 further south without attracting too much attention,' Sematumba said. Attack targeted worshippers at midnight The church attack Sunday was the latest in a series of deadly ADF assaults on civilians, including earlier this month when the group killed 66 people in Ituri province. The attack happened July 11 around 1 a.m. during a vigil at a Catholic church in Komanda, civil society leaders and survivors. It followed an attack a few hours earlier in the nearby village of Machongani, where five people were killed and houses razed. The attackers were believed to have come from a stronghold about 12 kilometers (7 miles) from Komanda and fled before security forces arrived. Attack expected to worsen situation The attack Sunday has sent shockwaves around the Central African country, which is currently embroiled in numerous conflicts. The Congolese government condemned it as 'horrific' while the military described it as a 'large-scale massacre' carried out in revenge for recent security operations targeting the ADF. However, M23 used the attack to accuse the governemnt of 'blatant incompetence' in attempts to protect citizens. The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the country, MONUSCO, said the chuch killings will 'exacerbate an already extremely worrying humanitarian situation in the province.'
Scroll.in
3 days ago
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Like Idi Amin, today's demagogues have convinced the majority that they are oppressed by ‘outsiders'
Fifty years ago, Ugandan President Idi Amin wrote to the governments of the British Commonwealth with a bold suggestion: Allow him to take over as head of the organization, replacing Queen Elizabeth II. After all, Amin reasoned, a collapsing economy had made the UK unable to maintain its leadership. Moreover the 'British empire does not now exist following the complete decolonisation of Britain's former overseas territories'. It wasn't Amin's only attempt to reshape the international order. Around the same time, he called for the United Nations headquarters to be moved to Uganda's capital, Kampala, touting its location at 'the heart of the world between the continents of America, Asia, Australia and the North and South Poles'. Amin's diplomacy aimed to place Kampala at the center of a postcolonial world. In my new book, A Popular History of Idi Amin's Uganda, I show that Amin's government made Uganda – a remote, landlocked nation – look like a frontline state in the global war against racism, apartheid and imperialism. Doing so was, for the Amin regime, a way of claiming a morally essential role: liberator of Africa's hitherto oppressed people. It helped inflate his image both at home and abroad, allowing him to maintain his rule for eight calamitous years, from 1971 to 1979. The phony liberator? Amin was the creator of a myth that was both manifestly untrue and extraordinarily compelling: that his violent, dysfunctional regime was actually engaged in freeing people from foreign oppressors. The question of Scottish independence was one of his enduring concerns. The 'people of Scotland are tired of being exploited by the English,' wrote Amin in a 1974 telegram to United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim. 'Scotland was once an independent country, happy, well governed and administered with peace and prosperity,' but under the British government, 'England has thrived on the energies and brains of the Scottish people.' Even his cruelest policies were framed as if they were liberatory. In August 1972, Amin announced the summary expulsion of Uganda's Asian community. Some 50,000 people, many of whom had lived in Uganda for generations, were given a bare three months to tie up their affairs and leave the country. Amin named this the ' Economic War '. In the speech that announced the expulsions, Amin argued that 'the Ugandan Africans have been enslaved economically since the time of the colonialists.' The Economic War was meant to 'emancipate the Uganda Africans of this republic.' 'This is the day of salvation for the Ugandan Africans,' he said. By the end of 1972, some 5,655 farms, ranches and estates had been vacated by the departed Asian community, and Black African proprietors were queuing up to take over Asian-run businesses. A year later, when Amin attended the Organization of African Unity summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, his 'achievements' were reported in a booklet published by the Uganda government. During his speech, Amin was 'interrupted by thunderous applauses of acclamation and cheers, almost word for word, by Heads of State and Government and by everybody else who had a chance to hear it,' according to the the report. It was, wrote the government propagandist, 'very clear that Uganda had emerged as the forefront of a True African State. It was clear that African nationalism had been born again. It was clear that the speech had brought new life to the freedom struggle in Africa.' Life at the front Amin's policies were disastrous for all Ugandans, African and Asian alike. Yet his war of economic liberation was, for a time, a source of inspiration for activists around the world. Among the many people gripped by enthusiasm for Amin's regime was Roy Innis, the Black American leader of the civil rights organization Congress of Racial Equality. In March 1973, Innis visited Uganda at Amin's invitation. Innis and his colleagues had been pressing African governments to grant dual citizenship to Black Americans, just as Jewish Americans could earn citizenship from the state of Israel. Over the course of their 18 days in Uganda, the visiting Americans were shuttled around the country in Amin's helicopter. Everywhere, Innis spoke with enthusiasm about Amin's accomplishments. In a poem published in the pro-government Voice of Uganda around the time of his visit, Innis wrote: 'Before, the life of your people was a complete bore, And they were poor, oppressed, exploited and economically sore. And you then came and opened new, dynamic economic pages. And showered progress on your people in realistic stages. In such expert moves that baffled even the great sages, your electric personality pronounced the imperialists' doom. Your pragmatism has given Ugandans their economic boom.' In May 1973, Innis was back in Uganda, promising to recruit a contingent of 500 African American professors and technicians to serve in Uganda. Amin offered them free passage to Uganda, free housing and free hospital care for themselves and their families. The American weekly magazine Jet predicted that Uganda was soon to become an 'African Israel,' a model nation upheld by the energies and knowledge of Black Americans. As some have observed, Innis was surely naive. But his enthusiasm was shared by a great many people, not least a great many Ugandans. Inspired by Amin's promises, their energy and commitment kept institutions functioning in a time of great disruption. They built roads and stadiums, constructed national monuments and underwrote the running costs of government ministries. Patriotism and demagoguery Their ambitions were soon foreclosed by a rising tide of political dysfunction. Amin's regime came to a violent end in 1979, when he was ousted by the invading army of Tanzania and fled Uganda. But his brand of demagoguery lives on. Today a new generation of demagogues claim to be fighting to liberate aggrieved majorities from outsiders' control. In the 1970s, Amin enlisted Black Ugandans to battle against racial minorities who were said to dominate the economy and public life. Today an ascendant right wing encourages aggrieved white Americans to regard themselves as a majority dispossessed of their inheritance by greedy immigrants. Amin encouraged Ugandans to regard themselves as frontline soldiers, engaged in a globally consequential war against foreigners. In today's America, some people similarly feel themselves deputised to take matters of state into their own hands. In January 2021, for instance, a right-wing group called 'Stop the Steal' organised a rally in Washington. Vowing to 'take our country back,' they stormed the Capitol building. The racialised demagoguery that Idi Amin promoted inspired the imagination of a great many people. It also fed violent campaigns to repossess a stolen inheritance, to reclaim properties that ought, in the view of the aggrieved majority, to belong to native sons and daughters. His regime is for us today a warning about the compelling power of demagoguery to shape people's sense of purpose.
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Idi Amin made himself out to be the ‘liberator' of an oppressed majority – a demagogic trick that endures today
Fifty years ago, Ugandan President Idi Amin wrote to the governments of the British Commonwealth with a bold suggestion: Allow him to take over as head of the organization, replacing Queen Elizabeth II. After all, Amin reasoned, a collapsing economy had made the U.K. unable to maintain its leadership. Moreover the 'British empire does not now exist following the complete decolonization of Britain's former overseas territories.' It wasn't Amin's only attempt to reshape the international order. Around the same time, he called for the United Nations headquarters to be moved to Uganda's capital, Kampala, touting its location at 'the heart of the world between the continents of America, Asia, Australia and the North and South Poles.' Amin's diplomacy aimed to place Kampala at the center of a postcolonial world. In my new book, 'A Popular History of Idi Amin's Uganda,' I show that Amin's government made Uganda – a remote, landlocked nation – look like a frontline state in the global war against racism, apartheid and imperialism. Doing so was, for the Amin regime, a way of claiming a morally essential role: liberator of Africa's hitherto oppressed people. It helped inflate his image both at home and abroad, allowing him to maintain his rule for eight calamitous years, from 1971 to 1979. The phony liberator? Amin was the creator of a myth that was both manifestly untrue and extraordinarily compelling: that his violent, dysfunctional regime was actually engaged in freeing people from foreign oppressors. The question of Scottish independence was one of his enduring concerns. The 'people of Scotland are tired of being exploited by the English,' wrote Amin in a 1974 telegram to United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim. 'Scotland was once an independent country, happy, well governed and administered with peace and prosperity,' but under the British government, 'England has thrived on the energies and brains of the Scottish people.' Even his cruelest policies were framed as if they were liberatory. In August 1972, Amin announced the summary expulsion of Uganda's Asian community. Some 50,000 people, many of whom had lived in Uganda for generations, were given a bare three months to tie up their affairs and leave the country. Amin named this the 'Economic War.' In the speech that announced the expulsions, Amin argued that 'the Ugandan Africans have been enslaved economically since the time of the colonialists.' The Economic War was meant to 'emancipate the Uganda Africans of this republic.' 'This is the day of salvation for the Ugandan Africans,' he said. By the end of 1972, some 5,655 farms, ranches and estates had been vacated by the departed Asian community, and Black African proprietors were queuing up to take over Asian-run businesses. A year later, when Amin attended the Organization of African Unity summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, his 'achievements' were reported in a booklet published by the Uganda government. During his speech, Amin was 'interrupted by thunderous applauses of acclamation and cheers, almost word for word, by Heads of State and Government and by everybody else who had a chance to hear it,' according to the the report. It was, wrote the government propagandist, 'very clear that Uganda had emerged as the forefront of a True African State. It was clear that African nationalism had been born again. It was clear that the speech had brought new life to the freedom struggle in Africa.' Life at the front Amin's policies were disastrous for all Ugandans, African and Asian alike. Yet his war of economic liberation was, for a time, a source of inspiration for activists around the world. Among the many people gripped by enthusiasm for Amin's regime was Roy Innis, the Black American leader of the civil rights organization Congress of Racial Equality. In March 1973, Innis visited Uganda at Amin's invitation. Innis and his colleagues had been pressing African governments to grant dual citizenship to Black Americans, just as Jewish Americans could earn citizenship from the state of Israel. Over the course of their 18 days in Uganda, the visiting Americans were shuttled around the country in Amin's helicopter. Everywhere, Innis spoke with enthusiasm about Amin's accomplishments. In a poem published in the pro-government Voice of Uganda around the time of his visit, Innis wrote: 'Before, the life of your people was a complete bore, And they were poor, oppressed, exploited and economically sore. And you then came and opened new, dynamic economic pages. And showered progress on your people in realistic stages. In such expert moves that baffled even the great sages, your electric personality pronounced the imperialists' doom. Your pragmatism has given Ugandans their economic boom.' In May 1973, Innis was back in Uganda, promising to recruit a contingent of 500 African American professors and technicians to serve in Uganda. Amin offered them free passage to Uganda, free housing and free hospital care for themselves and their families. The American weekly magazine Jet predicted that Uganda was soon to become an 'African Israel,' a model nation upheld by the energies and knowledge of Black Americans. As some have observed, Innis was surely naive. But his enthusiasm was shared by a great many people, not least a great many Ugandans. Inspired by Amin's promises, their energy and commitment kept institutions functioning in a time of great disruption. They built roads and stadiums, constructed national monuments and underwrote the running costs of government ministries. Patriotism and demagoguery Their ambitions were soon foreclosed by a rising tide of political dysfunction. Amin's regime came to a violent end in 1979, when he was ousted by the invading army of Tanzania and fled Uganda. But his brand of demagoguery lives on. Today a new generation of demagogues claim to be fighting to liberate aggrieved majorities from outsiders' control. In the 1970s, Amin enlisted Black Ugandans to battle against racial minorities who were said to dominate the economy and public life. Today an ascendant right wing encourages aggrieved white Americans to regard themselves as a majority dispossessed of their inheritance by greedy immigrants. Amin encouraged Ugandans to regard themselves as frontline soldiers, engaged in a globally consequential war against foreigners. In today's America, some people similarly feel themselves deputized to take matters of state into their own hands. In January 2021, for instance, a right-wing group called 'Stop the Steal' organized a rally in Washington. Vowing to 'take our country back,' they stormed the Capitol building. The racialized demagoguery that Idi Amin promoted inspired the imagination of a great many people. It also fed violent campaigns to repossess a stolen inheritance, to reclaim properties that ought, in the view of the aggrieved majority, to belong to native sons and daughters. His regime is for us today a warning about the compelling power of demagoguery to shape people's sense of purpose. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Derek R. Peterson, University of Michigan Read more: Idi Amin and Donald Trump - strong men with unlikely parallels Idi Amin's 'economic war' victimised Uganda's Africans and Asians alike Zohran Mamdani's last name reflects centuries of intercontinental trade, migration and cultural exchange Derek R. Peterson receives funding from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Andrew Mellon Foundation. Solve the daily Crossword
