Lord's Resistance Army update
Following US President Barack Obama's decision to deploy US forces to
Central Africa, advisers from the US military, deployed to assist the
Ugandan army in its operation against the Lord’s Resistance Army
(LRA), have arrived in the region. By the middle of January 2012,
about 30 US Special Forces were based in the Central African Republic
(CAR), settling in the towns of Djemah and Obo where Ugandan troops
are also stationed. US and Ugandan troops are also based in Nzara, in
South Sudan’s Western Equatoria state, which hosts the Ugandan army’s
operational headquarters in the fight against the LRA.
In addition, a small group of US forces is based in Entebbe where
Ugandan forces completed a training exercise in improved air logistic
capabilities in December 2011. According to US military officials, the
joint effort against the LRA is going well. The commander of the 17th
Air Force and US Air Forces Africa, Major General Margaret Woodward,
told Ugandan journalists recently that, ‘it is not going to be that
long before the war ends and the LRA will no longer be a problem.’
Nothing significant has been achieved so far, however, nor are there
any signs of planning for a major offensive against the LRA.
LRA attacks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) intensified
from the middle of December 2011 until mid-January 2012, perhaps due
to a possible move of LRA troops from CAR to DRC. At least 12 attacks
attributed to the LRA were reported in the last four weeks. Most of
these took place in Haut-Uélé, Province Orientale. Areas around the
small towns of Ngilima, Dungu and Faradje have been repeatedly
attacked by groups of 20-30 fighters. A recent UN report says that
over 30 LRA combatants attacked and looted small villages near Djabir
on 7 January 2012, abducting at least four people, including a
12-year-old girl.
While most of the attacks have taken place in areas traditionally
targeted by the LRA, recent reports indicate a resurgence of LRA
groups in northern Bas-Uélé, which was considered free of LRA elements
for most of 2011. Local NGO representatives said LRA elements were
spotted around 25 December 2011 about 30 kilometers south-west of
Banda. It is unclear whether these are forces moving from Haut-Uélé to
Bas-Uélé via the Doruma-Banda axis, or LRA groups moving back from
CAR.
Despite reports of a large concentration of LRA combatants in CAR,
there have been no reported attacks for the last few weeks. At least
one LRA attack was reported in neighboring South Sudan; on 23 December
2011, LRA combatants seem to have abducted and killed two young girls
in Boro el Madina in Raja county, Western Bahr al Ghazal. South
Sudanese officials have said the LRA is active in Raja as combatants
move to South Darfur to connect with Sudan Armed Forces.
Colonel Philip Aguer, spokesperson for the Sudan People’s Liberation
Army, told journalists on 30 December 2011, that Sudan Armed Forces
had been bombing territory in South Sudan to help LRA combatants who
move from South Darfur to CAR. He said that the army bombed Raja and
Parieng counties in Western Bahr al Ghazal and Unity state on 28 and
29 December, killing 17 people. There has been no independent
verification of this.
One of the first acts of the newly appointed African Union envoy on
the LRA, Francisco Madeira, was to tour the countries affected by the
rebel group. The head of the United Nations Office for Central Africa,
Abou Moussa, joined him on visits to CAR, South Sudan and DRC at the
beginning of January 2012. The diplomats spoke publicly about the need
for better coordination in the fight against the LRA. Moussa is
responsible for overseeing UN work relating to the LRA and is expected
to report to the UN secretary-general by the end of May 2012. The full
extent of Madeira’s role is still unclear although he is expected to
coordinate the regional effort against the LRA.
Former LRA commander Thomas Kwoyelo remains in prison despite being
judged eligible for amnesty by Uganda’s Constitutional Court.
Essentially ignoring the legal ruling, the director of public
prosecutions (DPP) wrote a letter to the Amnesty Commission saying
Kwoyelo could not be released because of pending charges against him.
An application prepared by Kwoyelo’s defence team, seeking to compel
the DPP to release him, has not been filed to the Uganda High Court
for the last two weeks, as the responsible judge is absent.
Click here for more information on the LRA and here to see the
November 2010 White House strategy paper on the LRA.
Click here to see the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs' overview of LRA activity January-August 2011.
Updated 23 January 2012
Relevant Tables, Maps, and Summaries
* LRA Areas of Operation, February 2010 (from Accord/Conciliation Resources)
Map showing LRA areas of operation before, during, and after the
Juba peace talks
* LRA Areas of Operation, May 2007 (from HSBA Working Paper 8)
Map showing known LRA areas of operation
Relevant HSBA Publications
* The Lord's Resistance Army in Sudan: A History and Overview, by
Mareike Schomerus, September 2007 (in Arabic)
* Violent Legacies: Understanding post-CPA Insecurity in Sudan's
Central and Eastern Equatoria, by Mareike Schomerus, June 2008 (in
Arabic)
* Gauging Fear and Insecurity: Perspectives on Armed Violence in
Eastern Equatoria and Turkana North, by Claire Mc Evoy and Ryan
Murray, July 2008 (in Arabic)
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