The
Ulster Defence Association (
UDA) is a British paramilitary group based in the United Kingdom. They are the largest
Ulster loyalist paramilitary and vigilante group in
Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 and
undertook a campaign of almost twenty-four years during
the Troubles. For most of this time it was a legal organization. Its declared goal was to defend
Ulster Protestant loyalist areas and to combat
Irish republicanism, particularly the
Irish Republican Army (IRA). In the 1970s, uniformed UDA members openly patrolled these areas armed with batons and held large marches and rallies. Within the UDA was a group tasked with launching paramilitary attacks; it used the covername
Ulster Freedom Fighters (
UFF) so that the UDA would not be outlawed. The United Kingdom outlawed the "UFF" in November 1973, but the UDA itself was not
proscribed as a
terrorist group until August 1992.