The Battle of Birembo (10 January 1985) was fought between National Resistance Movement (NRM) rebels and the Ugandan government, supported by North Korean forces, during the late Ugandan Bush War. In the clash, the government forces were almost able to encircle a strong insurgent force which included the NRM chief commander, Yoweri Museveni, but ultimately could not prevent a successful rebel breakout.
The battle took place after the NRM's armed wing, the National Resistance Army (NRA), had successfully raided Kabamba and carried off important military supplies. The Ugandan government sent a strong force of Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) soldiers to pursue and destroy the NRA raiders. The UNLA force, led by John Charles Ogole, caught up with the rebels at Birembo. Aided by heavy artillery fire, the government troops launched a surprise attack and almost encircled the rebels. However, the NRA troops were able to break through and successfully retreated during the night. They continued to evaded their pursuers over the following days and reached rebel-held territories. Alongside other unsuccessful clashes, the Battle of Birembo underminded the morale of UNLA, contributing to the 1985 Ugandan coup d'état and the NRM/NRA's takeover in Uganda in 1986.
Background
In April 1979 Tanzanian forces and the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA), a coalition of armed rebel groups united under the Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF), invaded Uganda and deposed the President, Idi Amin. A new UNLF government was installed, but it was weak and exercised little control over the country. This was in part due to the UNLF's and its army's own internal divisions. One of the most important rivalries emerged between the supporters Milton Obote and Yoweri Museveni. Over time power shifted to pro-Obote elements in the government and the army. Obote assumed power in 1980 through a disputed election, and ruled through repressive methods, including the incarceration and killing of dissidents. In February 1981 Museveni and a small band of rebels began attacking UNLA forces, entering the Ugandan Bush War. Shortly thereafter a new rebel coalition was organised as the National Resistance Movement (NRM). Museveni was made vice-chairman of the National Resistance Council, the group's political body, and Chairman of the High Command of the National Resistance Army (NRA), the Movement's armed organ.
The NRA mainly operated in the Luwero Triangle west of Uganda's capital Kampala. Knowing that his force was far smaller and not well equipped, Museveni envisioned that the NRA would wage a long-term "people's war" to gradually undermine Obote's government and build up support across Uganda, starting with the Luwero region where many civilians were already sympathetic to his cause. Over the next years, fighting between the NRA and UNLA ebbed and flowed, as the government would launch major counterinsurgency operations in the Luwero Triangle, disrupting NRA activities, only for the rebels to retake lost territory upon the end of the offensives.
Prelude
In early 1984, the NRA won a number of victories over the security forces, most importantly raiding the cities of Masindi and Hoima. Emboldened, Museveni decided to launch another attack on Kabamba, site of a barracks and weapons depot. The NRA had already unsuccessfully attempted raids on the locality before, most notably in 1981. Unlike the previous attacks, the Third Battle of Kabamba on 1 January 1985 resulted in the capture of the depot by the NRA's Mobile Brigade under Salim Saleh. A UNLA force tried to pursue, but was fended off by the insurgents who subsequently withdrew with much loot.
The Mobile Brigade began to move toward the NRA's headquarters at Bulemezi County to reunite with the rest of the rebel army. On the way, the insurgent force had to cross Kikwaya sub-county, Kakumiro District. The local population was supportive, with one local, Kaloli Kamanyire, providing the rebels with food, intelligence, and even bribing UNLA soldiers to free captured rebels so that they could join Salim Saleh's retreating unit. The Mobile Brigade eventually stopped and rested for two days at the River Nguse, waiting for the arrival of another NRA column which had been personally commanded by Museveni. This group had been active in Bukomero to distract UNLA from the Kabamba raid.