Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front
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Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front
የአፋር አብዮታዊ ዴሞክራሲያዊ አንድነት ግንባር |
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| Abbreviation | ARDUF |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Ideology | Afar interests |
| Seats in the House of Federation |
0 / 112
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| Seats in the House of Peoples' Representatives |
0 / 547
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| Party flag | |
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The Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front (Amharic: የአፋር አብዮታዊ ዴሞክራሲያዊ አንድነት ግንባር?; abbreviated ARDUF) is an Afar political party in Ethiopia that was founded in 1993 and is currently part of the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF) coalition opposition party.
Its name in the Afar language is Qafar Uguugumoh Demokrasiyyoh Inkiinoh Fooca, often simplified to just Uguugumo (also spelled Uguguma or Ugogomo), meaning "Revolution", a term sometimes reserved for its militant wing and often confused as being a separate organization that is simply closely tied to ARDUF.
The party was founded in March 1993 as a coalition of three Afar organizations: the Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Union (ARDUU), founded in 1991 and led by Mohamooda Gaas (or Gaaz); the Afar Ummatah Demokrasiyyoh Focca (AUDF); and the Afar Revolutionary Forces (ARF). Mohamooda Gaas was elected as its Secretary General in 1995, but refused the post, leaving it to his deputy Muhyadin Mafatah, who was later extradited from Djibouti to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in August 1996, where he was jailed with two other Afar leaders, Habib Mahammad Yayyo and Jamal Abdulkadir Redo.
In March 1995, ARDUF was involved in the kidnapping of Italian tourists in the Afar Region of Ethiopia, resulting in an Ethiopian military campaign against the group, coordinated with the Eritrean government. Travelers reported clashes between ARDUF and Ethiopian government forces in the Dallol district through 1995, including attacks on the homes and property of Afar People's Democratic Organization (APDO) members as "traitors", which led an end of all traffic on caravan trade routes through the Dallol area and resulting food shortages. Political attempts at reconciliation were made in October 1997 with the creation of an Afar conference, and again in November, though both of these failed. Mohamooda Gaas made a statement declaring unilateral cease-fire with government forces on 5 June 1998 after the beginning of the 1998-2000 Eritrean-Ethiopian War and an Eritrean attack on the town of Alitena, inhabited primarily by Irob people (an ethnicity closely related linguistically to Afars). As a result of the fighting's civilian casualties, ARDUF reconciled with the Ethiopian government to minimize civilian casualties in the region and condemned the Eritrean government's attacks.
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