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The Lord's Resistance Army insurgency is an ongoing conflict between the
Lord's Resistance Army The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) is a Christian extremist organization operating in Central Africa and East Africa. Its origins were in the War in Uganda (1986–1994), Ugandan insurgency (1986–1994) against Yoweri Museveni, during which Jo ...
(LRA), a Ugandan militant religious extremist group, against the government of Uganda. Following the Ugandan Civil War, militant
Joseph Kony Joseph Rao Kony (born September 1961) is a Ugandan militant and warlord who founded the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), designated as a terrorist group by the MONUSCO, United Nations Peacekeepers, the European Union, and various other governments ...
formed the Lord's Resistance Army and launched an insurgency against the newly installed
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and Officer (armed forces), military officer who is the ninth and current president of Uganda since 1986. As of 2025, he is the third-List of current state lead ...
. The stated goal was to establish a
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
based on the
Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, were given by YHWH to Moses. The text of the Ten ...
. Currently, there is low-level LRA activity in eastern areas of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
and the
Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...
. Kony proclaims himself the 'spokesperson' of
God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
and a spirit medium. The insurgency has become one of Africa's longest conflicts and has resulted in a lasting
humanitarian crisis A humanitarian crisis (or sometimes humanitarian disaster) is defined as a singular event or a series of events that are threatening in terms of health, safety or well-being of a community or large group of people. It may be an internal or exter ...
. The LRA has been accused by the
International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...
of widespread
human rights violations Human rights are universally recognized moral principles or norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both national and international laws. These rights are considered inherent and inalienable, meaning t ...
, including
mutilation Mutilation or maiming (from the ) is Bodily harm, severe damage to the body that has a subsequent harmful effect on an individual's quality of life. In the modern era, the term has an overwhelmingly negative connotation, referring to alteratio ...
,
torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...
,
slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
,
rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...
, the abduction of civilians, the use of child soldiers, and a number of
massacre A massacre is an event of killing people who are not engaged in hostilities or are defenseless. It is generally used to describe a targeted killing of civilians Glossary of French words and expressions in English#En masse, en masse by an armed ...
s.International Criminal Court (14 October 2005).
Warrant of Arrest unsealed against five LRA Commanders
''. Retrieved 10 June 2008.
By 2004, the LRA had abducted more than 20,000 children, caused the displacement of 1.5 million civilians, and killed an estimation of 100,000 civilians.


Background

The
National Resistance Army The National Resistance Army (NRA) was a guerilla army and the military wing of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) that fought in the Ugandan Bush War against the government of Milton Obote, and later the government of Tito Okello. NRA wa ...
(NRA), commanded by
Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and Officer (armed forces), military officer who is the ninth and current president of Uganda since 1986. As of 2025, he is the third-List of current state lead ...
, overthrew
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Tito Okello in January 1986. In retaliation for the Ugandan Army's actions in the Luwero triangle,Doom, R. and K. Vlassenroot. "Kony's message: a new ''koine''? The Lord's Resistance Army in Northern Uganda," ''African Affairs'' 98 (390), p. 9 the NRA committed numerous acts of brutality against the Acholi. Fearing the loss of their customary dominance over the national military, some Acholis rebelled. By August, the northern districts held by the new government forces had erupted into a full-fledged popular insurrection.


Timeline


Early history (1987–1994)

In January 1987,
Joseph Kony Joseph Rao Kony (born September 1961) is a Ugandan militant and warlord who founded the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), designated as a terrorist group by the MONUSCO, United Nations Peacekeepers, the European Union, and various other governments ...
made his first appearance as a spirit medium, one of many who emerged following the initial success of the Holy Spirit Movement of
Alice Auma Alice Auma (1956 – 17 January 2007) was a Ugandan Mediumship, spirit-medium who, as the head of the Holy Spirit Movement (HSM), led a Millennialism, millennial rebellion against the Ugandan government forces of President Yoweri Museveni from ...
. Former Uganda People's Democratic Army commander Odong Latek convinced Kony to adopt conventional
guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...
tactics, primarily surprise attacks on civilian targets, such as villages. The LRA also occasionally carried out large-scale attacks to underline the inability of the government to protect the populace. Until 1991, the LRA raided the populace for supplies, which were carried away by villagers who were abducted for short periods of time. The fact that some NRA units were known for their brutal actions ensured that the LRA were given at least passive support by segments of the Acholi population.O'Kadameri, Billie
"LRA / Government negotiations 1993–94"
in Okello Lucima, ed.
''Accord magazine: Protracted conflict, elusive peace: Initiatives to end the violence in northern Uganda''
, 2002.
March 1991 saw the start of "Operation North", which combined efforts to destroy the LRA while cutting away its roots of support among the population through heavy-handed tactics.Gersony, Robert
The Anguish of Northern Uganda: Results of a Field-based Assessment of the Civil Conflicts in Northern Uganda
, US Embassy Kampala, March 1997, and
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

Human rights violations by the National Resistance Army
, December 1991.
As part of Operation North, Acholi Betty Oyella Bigombe, the Minister charged with ending the insurgency, created the Arrow Boys, a local militia mostly armed with bows, arrows, and other traditional weapons as a form of local defense. As the LRA was armed with modern weaponry, the Arrow Boys were severely underpowered. The creation of the Arrow Groups angered Kony, who began to feel that he no longer had the support of the population. In response, the LRA mutilated numerous Acholi whom they believed to be government supporters. While the government efforts were a failure, the LRA reaction caused many Acholi to finally turn against the insurgency. However, this was tempered by the deep-seated antagonism towards the occupying government forces. Following Operation North, Bigombe initiated the first face-to-face meeting between representatives of the LRA and the government. The LRA asked for a general amnesty for their combatants and stated that they would not surrender but were willing to "return home." However, the government's stance was hampered by disagreement over the credibility of the LRA negotiators and political infighting. In particular, the military had learned that Kony was negotiating with the
Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
ese government for support while talking to Bigombe and felt that Kony was simply trying to buy time. At a second meeting on 10 January 1994, Kony asked for six months to regroup his troops. By early February the tone of the negotiations was growing increasingly acrimonious, and following a meeting on 2 February, the LRA broke off negotiations stating that they felt that the NRA was trying to entrap them. Four days later, President
Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and Officer (armed forces), military officer who is the ninth and current president of Uganda since 1986. As of 2025, he is the third-List of current state lead ...
announced a seven-day deadline for the LRA to surrender. This ultimatum ended the Bigombe Initiative.


Spillover into neighboring countries (1994–2002)

Two weeks after Museveni delivered his ultimatum of 6 February 1994, it was reported that LRA fighters had crossed the northern border and established bases in southern Sudan with the approval of the
Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...
government. Sudanese aid was a response to Ugandan support for the rebel
Sudan People's Liberation Army The South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF), formerly the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), is the military force of South Sudan. The SPLA was founded as a guerrilla movement against the government of Sudan in 1983 and was a key parti ...
(SPLA) fighting in the
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
in the south of the country. Also, convinced that the Acholi were now collaborating with the Museveni government, Kony began to target civilians with his increased military strength. Mutilations became commonplace (especially cutting off ears, lips, and nose), and 1994 saw the first mass abduction of children and youth. The most infamous of these was the Aboke abductions of 139 female students in October 1996. As most of the LRA combatants are abducted children, a military offensive against the LRA is widely perceived by the Acholi as a massacre of victims. Government attempts to destroy the rebels are thus viewed as another cause for grievance by the Acholi. The moral ambiguity of this situation, in which abducted young rebels are both the victims and perpetrators of brutal acts, is central to the conflicted attitudes of many Acholi towards the rebels. The government's response was a
scorched-earth A scorched-earth policy is a military strategy of destroying everything that allows an enemy military force to be able to fight a war, including the deprivation and destruction of water, food, humans, animals, plants and any kind of tools and i ...
policy ordering all Acholis to leave their homes in 48 hours and move to "protected villages" beginning in 1996, later called Internally Displaced People's Camps. This further deepened the antagonistic attitude that many Acholi had toward the government, especially as the population continued to be attacked by the LRA even within the "protected camps." The camps were crowded, unsanitary, miserable places to liveDolan, Chris
What do you remember? A rough guide to the war in Northern Uganda 1986–2000
(PDF), COPE Working Paper No. 33, 2000, p. 19, and Weeks, Willar
Pushing the Envelope: Moving Beyond 'Protected Villages' in Northern Uganda
(PDF), for
UNOCHA The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is a United Nations (UN) body established in December 1991 by the General Assembly to strengthen the international response to complex emergencies and natural disaster ...
Kampala, March 2002, p. 4
and have been described as death camps. Litell, Jonathan (15 April 2014
Sign Warfare
''
Asymptote In analytic geometry, an asymptote () of a curve is a line such that the distance between the curve and the line approaches zero as one or both of the ''x'' or ''y'' coordinates tends to infinity. In projective geometry and related contexts, ...
'', (translated from a French article in Le Monde), Retrieved 16 April 2014
World Health Organization data indicated that these camps caused the death of ten times as many people as the LRA. Meanwhile, in 1997 the Sudanese government of the National Islamic Front began to recede from its previous hardline stance. Following the
11 September 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
in the US, the relationship between Sudan and Uganda abruptly changed. Cross-border tensions eased as support to proxy forces fell. Some of the hundreds of thousands of civilians displaced by the war began to return home. The number of people displaced by the conflict declined to about half a million, and people began to talk openly about the day when the "protected camps" would be disbanded.Weeks, p. 36.


Operation Iron Fist and continued insurgency (2002–2005)

In March 2002, the Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF) launched a massive military offensive, named "Operation Iron Fist", against the LRA bases in southern Sudan, with agreement from the National Islamic Front. This agreement, coupled with the return of Ugandan forces that were deployed in the
Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
upon the official end of the
Second Congo War The Second Congo War, also known as Africa's World War or the Great War of Africa, was a major conflict that began on 2 August 1998, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, just over a year after the First Congo War. The war initially erupted ...
, created what the Ugandan government felt was an ideal situation in which to end a conflict that had become both an embarrassment and political liability. After several months of uncertainty, LRA forces began crossing back into Uganda and carrying out attacks on a scale of brutality not seen since 1995 to 1996, resulting in widespread displacement and suffering in regions, such as Soroti, that had never previously been touched by the insurgency.Behind the Violence: Causes, Consequences and the Search for Solutions to the War in Northern Uganda
(PDF)
Refugee Law Project
of
Makerere University Makerere University (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa. It became an independent national university in ...
, Uganda, February 2004, p. 32.
A series of local initiatives spearheaded by traditional and religious leaders as well as diplomatic initiatives during these years failed, especially since Kony's negotiating position remained uncertain, but the conflict gained unprecedented international coverage. During a November 2003 field visit to Uganda, United Nations Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland stated, "I cannot find any other part of the world that is having an emergency on the scale of Uganda, that is getting such little international attention."Uganda conflict 'worse than Iraq'
,
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
, 10 November 2003.
In December 2003, Ugandan President Museveni referred the LRA to the
International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...
(ICC) to determine if the LRA is guilty of international war crimes. From the middle of 2004 on, rebel activity dropped markedly under intense military pressure. The government was also the target of increasingly pointed criticism from the international community for its failure to end the conflict. International aid agencies questioned the Ugandan government's reliance on military force and its commitment to a peaceful resolution. The army also admitted that it had recruited child soldiers who escaped the LRA into the military.Ugandan army recruiting children
, BBC, 15 February 2005.
In mid-September 2005, a band of LRA fighters, led by Vincent Otti, crossed into the
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
(DRC) for the first time. President Museveni declared that, if Congolese authorities did not disarm the LRA combatants, the UPDF would be sent across the border in pursuit.DR Congo militia deadline expires
, BBC, 30 September 2005
This sparked a diplomatic row between the governments of the DRC and Uganda, with both militaries making a show of force along their border, while the Congolese ambassador to the United Nations sent a letter to the
UN Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...
demanding that an economic embargo be placed on Uganda in retaliation.


Peace talks and truce (2006–2008)

A series of meetings were held in Juba starting in July 2006 between the government of Uganda and the LRA. The talks were mediated by Riek Machar, the Vice President of Southern Sudan,LRA rebels arrive for Sudan talks
, BBC News, 8 June 2006
and by the Community of Sant'Egidio."Guerra in Nord Uganda: la fine è a portata di mano"
, Avvenire, 20 August 2006.
The talks, which resulted in a ceasefire by September 2006, were described as the best chance for a negotiated settlement since the peace initiative of Betty Bigombe in 1994. These talks were agreed to after Joseph Kony released a video in May in which he denied committing atrocities and seemed to call for an end to hostilities, in response to an announcement by Museveni that he would guarantee the safety of Kony if peace was agreed to by July.Uganda LRA rebels reject amnesty
,
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
, 7 July 2006.
In late June 2006, the Government of Southern Sudan formally invited Uganda to attend peace talks,UGANDA: Gov't to send team to Sudan over proposed LRA talks
, IRIN, 28 June 2006.
and on 14 July 2006, talks began in Juba.
, AllAfrica (The Monitor), 15 July 2006.
On 4 August 2006, Vincent Otti declared a unilateral ceasefire and asked the Ugandan government to reciprocate. ICC indictee Raska Lukwiya was killed in battle on 12 August 2006. The government and the LRA signed a truce on 26 August 2006. Under the terms of the agreement, LRA forces will leave Uganda and gather in two assembly areas protected by the government of Sudan. The Ugandan government agreed not to attack those areas. LRA rebels had begun gathering in the assembly areas by mid-September. Talks continued to be hindered by demands and counter-demands. Meanwhile, the government began a process of creating "satellite camps" to decongest the main IDP camps. In a broader context, the government of Southern Sudan viewed the talks as a means of ridding itself of a foreign army that was complicating its delicate relationship with the Khartoum government. The request by the Ugandan Government for the ICC to suspend war crimes indictments against leaders of the LRA was condemned by international human rights groups but largely supported by leaders and civilians within northern Uganda. By mid-2007, thousands of IDPs had moved into the decongestion camps. However, the populace remained cautious about the prospect of a peace deal, with many refusing to return to their ancestral homes before a definitive end to the insurgency. Following a period in which the peace talks were suspended, the Juba Initiative Project enabled the resumption of the talks in May 2007, thanks to the efforts of the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for LRA-affected areas,
Joaquim Chissano Joaquim Alberto Chissano (born 22 October 1939) is a Mozambican politician who served as the second President of Mozambique, from 1986 to 2005. He is credited with transforming the war-torn country of Mozambique into a successful African democra ...
. The talks were again mediated by the Government of Southern Sudan, but with the support of the United Nations and logistic facilitation from the
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is a United Nations (UN) body established in December 1991 by the General Assembly to strengthen the international response to complex emergencies and natural disaster ...
(OCHA). On 20 August 2007, Uganda declared that it was seeking legal advice on setting up a
war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...
s court. In November 2007, an LRA delegation led by Martin Ojul journeyed to Kampala to restate its commitment to a peaceful resolution of the conflict. Ojul later led the delegation on a tour of northern Uganda to meet victims of the insurgency and ask their forgiveness. However, reports surfaced that LRA deputy commander Otti had been executed on or around 8 October 2007 over an internal power struggle with Kony.


Renewed fighting (2008–present)

In February 2008, LRA launched its first known attack in the Central African Republic in Bassigbiri, Haut-Mbomou. In the next month, LRA raided the first major town in Haut-Mbomou, Obo. In June 2008, diplomats reported that the Lord's Resistance Army had bought new weapons and was recruiting new soldiers, adding 1,000 recruits to the 600 soldiers it already had. At about the same time, Uganda, South Sudan, and Congo-Kinshasa agreed to a plan to crush the movement together; the South Sudanese Government claimed that the Lord's Resistance Army killed 14 of their soldiers in a raid on June 7 2008, in Nabanga, DR Congo. The LRA was alleged to have killed at least 400 people in attacks on a number of villages in the DR Congo on and after Christmas Day, 2008.
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
(30 December 2008).
Christmas massacres 'killed 400'
''. Retrieved on 4 January 2009.
Throughout 2009, the LRA was blamed for several attacks in Southern Sudan, DR Congo, and
Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...
. In March 2010, news emerged about a December 2009 massacre in DR Congo perpetrated by the LRA. In May 2010, US President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
signed the Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act into law. In October 2011, Obama announced the deployment of 100 US troops to aid other anti-LRA forces in subduing LRA leader Joseph Kony, citing the aforementioned act in a letter to the heads of both houses of
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
. On 23 March 2012, the
African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...
announced its intentions to send an international brigade of 5,000 military troops "from Uganda, South Sudan, Central African Republic, and Congo, countries where Kony's reign of terror has been felt over the years ... to join the hunt for rebel leader Joseph Kony and to "neutralize" him. According to the statement, "the mission would commence on 24 March 2012 and the search would last until Kony was caught", after which the task force would be disbanded. The effort is Ugandan-led and backed by the US with the 100 advisers already there, who are offering advice, intelligence and training, along with equipment. The brigade established its headquarters in
Yambio Yambio is a city in South Sudan. Location The City is located in Yambio County, Western Equatoria State, in southwestern South Sudan, close to the Democratic Republic of the Congo–South Sudan border, border with the Democratic Republic of the ...
,
South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...
, close to the border with the DRC, and is commanded by a Ugandan officer; while, a Congolese officer has oversight of intelligence operations. On 12 May 2012, Ugandan soldiers with the
African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...
brigade captured a senior LRA leader in the Central African Republic (CAR), Caesar Achellam, a veteran rebel commander with the rank of Major General. Because he was a leading military strategist for the LRA, Achellam's arrest signified a considerable setback for Joseph Kony's fight to evade capture. On 6 June, the
UN secretary-general The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...
,
Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...
, released an initial report covering the activities of the LRA from 2009 to 2012. The report itself stated that "at least 45 children have been killed and maimed" during this time period and at least "591 children, including 268 girls have been abducted". Though it was noted by Radhika Coomaraswamy, the UN special representative on children and conflict, that the "actual numbers of abductions are much higher, these are just the ones we are aware of". The report also stated that the LRA is currently made up of between 300 and 500 fighters, with around half of them being children. The LRA was reported to be in the East CAR town of Djema in 2012 but forces pursuing the LRA withdrew in April 2013 after the government of the CAR was overthrown by the Séléka Coalition rebels. In November 2013, Kony was reported to be in poor health in the East CAR town of Nzoka(24 September 2013
1200 LRA Fighters Set To Defect – UN
Uganda Radio Network, Retrieved 23 November 2013
and Michel Djotodia, president of the CAR, claimed he was negotiating with Kony to surrender. US officials doubted that Kony genuinely wanted to surrender. (21 November 2013
Joseph Kony: US doubts LRA rebel leader's surrender
BBC News Africa, Retrieved 23 November 2013.
In early November 2013, suspected LRA militants attacked five villages in the Western Equatoria region of South Sudan. Three people were killed and one wounded, aside from looting the rebels also set fire to several houses. On 4 December 2013, 13 LRA militants including senior commander Samuel Kangu were killed in the aftermath of a UPDF ambush in CAR. The rebels were reportedly tracked with the aid of US-provided intelligence. On 11 December 2013, 19 LRA guerrillas surrendered to African Union troops in Zembio, CAR. According to UN estimates, at least 65 LRA attacks took place in CAR and DRC during the first quarter of 2014 during which 93 people were reportedly abducted and two killed. On 7 May 2014, United Nations secretary-general
Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...
stated that senior LRA commanders were stationed in South Sudan's border areas with Sudan and the Central African Republic. On 20 May 2014, delegates from Uganda, DRC, South Sudan and CAR held a three-day conference in South Sudan regarding the LRA insurgency. On 13 August 2014, LRA insurgents launched attacks on villages in the vicinity of Billi, DRC, killing 4 people and injuring 2. FARDC troops clashed with the militants before the latter retreated. On 23 August 2014, 13 LRA hostages escaped from captivity, six days later 12 more hostages followed suit. The escapees were abducted between 2004 and August 2014, and managed to reach Digba and
Ango An , or , is a Japanese language, Japanese term for a three-month period of intense training for students of Zen Buddhism, lasting anywhere from 90 to 100 days. The practice during ango consists of meditation (zazen), study, and work (Samu (Ze ...
, DRC, respectively, following a FARDC offensive. Between 28 and 31 December 2014, LRA perpetrated three attacks in the area of Dungu, DRC. Two people were wounded in the aftermath of an attack on Faradje, the village of Mangasaba was looted, and a merchant from Kiliwa was also robbed by the guerrillas. On 9 January 2015, LRA's second in command Dominic Ongwen surrendered to US troops stationed in CAR. He claimed to have defected from the Ugandan rebellion. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki commented saying, " his defection would be a historic blow to the LRA's command structure." On 15 January 2015, LRA rebels conducted a number of kidnappings in the villages of Bulumasi and Pangali, Bondo territory, DRC. A total of 10 people were taken hostage during the incident. On 21 January 2015, LRA militants killed three FARDC soldiers in the aftermath of an ambush conducted at the town of Nangume in the vicinity of Wando, DRC. Dozens of civilians were wounded, three were abducted and two hundred families were also displaced from the area following raids LRA militants. On 5 February 2015, a band of twenty suspected LRA guerrillas abducted eight people and engaged in looting in the villages of Dizaga and Digba, DRC. On 16 February 2015, LRA guerrillas killed three people and injured four others, on Road IV, located in the Dungu territory, DRC. On 12 April 2015, a total of 8 FARDC soldiers went missing in action, following a LRA ambush outside the Mangbangu village, DRC. An unidentified corpse was found in the area, a day after the incident. On 30 March 2017, the United States Military announced it was ending its anti-LRA campaign, Operation Observant Compass. On an unspecified date in April 2017, a United States special forces soldier shot and killed an LRA fighter who drew a weapon on the American. The American had been escorting an African Union peacekeeper when the incident occurred. On 19 April 2017, Uganda announced that it would begin withdrawing forces from the Central African Republic where it has been trying to hunt down
Joseph Kony Joseph Rao Kony (born September 1961) is a Ugandan militant and warlord who founded the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), designated as a terrorist group by the MONUSCO, United Nations Peacekeepers, the European Union, and various other governments ...
in the country for 9 years. On 6 May 2021, LRA commander Dominic Ongwen was sentenced to 25 years in Ugandan prison over war crimes and crimes against humanity in Uganda. On 7 April 2024 Russian mercenaries from the
Wagner Group The Wagner Group (), officially known as PMC Wagner (, ), is a Russian state-funded private military company (PMC) controlled 2023 Wagner Group plane crash, until 2023 by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former close ally of Russia's president Vladimir Pu ...
conducted an operation in the Haute-Kotto prefecture near the town of Sam Ouandja to apprehend the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, Joseph Kony. While managing to kill some fighters, the operation failed to find the group leader due to him earlier leaving for another base.


Impact

The insurgency was historically confined to the region known as Acholiland, consisting of the districts of
Kitgum Kitgum is a municipality in Kitgum District in the Northern Region, Uganda, Northern Region of Uganda. The town is administered by Kitgum Municipality Council, an urban local government. It is the largest metropolitan area in the district and th ...
, Gulu, and Pader, though since 2002 violence has overflowed into other Ugandan districts. The LRA also operated across the porous border region with Southern Sudan and most recently into the north-eastern
Ituri Province Ituri Province ( in Swahili) is one of the 21 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Ituri, Bas-Uele, Haut-Uele, and Tshopo provinces are the result of the subdividing of the former Orientale ...
of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
. The plight of the affected people has received little media coverage in the developed world. Not until April 2004 did the
UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
issue a formal condemnation. A 2005 poll of humanitarian professionals, media personalities, academics and activists identified the conflict in the north of Uganda as the second worst "forgotten" humanitarian emergency in the world, after the conflicts of the neighbouring DRC.WHO SAID WHAT: AlertNet ‘forgotten’ emergencies poll
,
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
AlertNet, 9 March 2005.
The
US government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, execut ...
estimates that up to 12,000 people have been killed in the violence, with many more dying from disease and
malnutrition Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients which adversely affects the body's tissues a ...
as a direct result of the conflict. Nearly two million civilians have been forced to flee their homes, living in
internally displaced person An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee. I ...
(IDP) camps and within the safety of larger settlements, sleeping on street corners and in other public spaces. The problems of the camps have been expatiated by the government ordering villagers into the camps on pain of being classified as rebels and on occasion shelling those villages who refused to relocate. While many abductees are taken to carry items looted from raided villages, some are also used as soldiers and sex slaves. The group performs abductions primarily from the
Acholi people The Acholi people ( , also spelled Acoli) are a Nilotic peoples, Nilotic ethnic group of Luo peoples (also spelled Lwo), found in Magwi County in South Sudan and Northern Region, Uganda, Northern Uganda (an area commonly referred to as Acholiland ...
, who have borne the brunt of the 18-year LRA campaign. The United Nations estimated in the mid-2000s that around 25,000 children have been kidnapped by the LRA since 1987. However, several pieces of research have concluded that the figure was significantly higher. In June 2007, UC Berkeley's Human Rights Center researchers worked with reception centers in northern Uganda to compile a database of 25,000 former abductees that went through reception centers. By triangulating data from different sources on the number of former abductees, the research conservatively estimates that the LRA has abducted 24,000 to 38,000 children and 28,000 to 37,000 adults as of April 2006. The research further found that while women represented only about a third of all the abductees, they tended to stay longer with the LRA compared to men. Women are forced to serve as sexual and domestic servants. According to a survey of 750 youth in Kitgum and Pader, at least 66,000 youth between the ages of 13 and 30 have been abducted. One-third of all boys and one-sixth of all girls had been taken for at least one day.See also ''Figure 2: Distribution of LRA abduction over eight sub-counties, 1985 to 2005'', p. 2 o
The State of Youth and Youth Protection in Northern Uganda: Findings from the Survey for War Affected Youth (Phase 1 Final Report: Draft for Comments)
SWAY, August 2006 for a sense of the geographic shift in abductions over time
Of these, 66% of males were taken for longer than two weeks, while the equivalent number for females was 46%. If a female was gone for more than two weeks, there was a one in four chance that she had not returned. Males were again found to be taken for longer periods of time on average, with two in five males that were abducted for more than two weeks not having returned. The number of abductions was greatest in 2002 and 2003, perhaps in retaliation for Operation Iron Fist. However, the average age of abductees has risen from about 13 in 1994 to nearly 18 in 2004, coinciding with the rise in number, and fall in length, of abductions. While the LRA now appears to consist of less than two thousand combatants that are under intense pressure from the Ugandan military, the government has been unable to end the insurgency to date. Ongoing peace negotiations are complicated by an investigation and trial preparation by the
International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...
. Meanwhile, military operation is going on. The conflict continues to slow down Uganda's development efforts, costing the poor country's economy a cumulative total of at least $1.33 billion, which is equivalent to 3% of GDP, or $100 million annually. Jeff Dorsey and Steven Opeitum for the Civil Society Organisations for Peace in Northern Uganda (CSOPNU)
The Net Economic Cost of the Conflict in the Acholiland Sub-Region of Uganda (PDF)
, Kampala, September 2002.


"Night commuters"

At the height of the conflict, each night, as many as 40,000 children children between the ages of 8 and 14, referred to as "night commuters" or "night dwellers," would walk up to from IDP camps to larger towns, especially Gulu, in search of safety and to avoid abduction by the LRA. Refuge was offered at churches, hospitals, bus stations and temporary shelters before the children returned home again each morning. Because of this phenomenon, religious leaders from different denominations staged a one-week solidarity demonstration by sleeping in the streets with the children, which generated further attention of the conflict from the world.


Awareness

Initiatives to raise international awareness for these children included the " GuluWalk" and the work of the Resolve Uganda. Night commuters are also the subject of documentaries such as ''Stolen Children'', ''
War/Dance ''War/Dance'' is a 2007 American documentary film written and directed by Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine, and produced by Shine Global's Susan MacLaury, a professor at Kean University, and Albie Hecht. It was nominated for the 2008 Academy ...
'', and '' Invisible Children''. The ''Invisible Children'' documentary sponsored the Global Night Commute, an event similar to GuluWalk. On 29 April 2006, over 80,000 youths from around the world converged on urban centers in 130 major cities around the world in solidarity with displaced Ugandan children. The Invisible Children organization also raised awareness for those in the Internally Displaced Camps (IDPs) through its "Displace Me" event held in 15 cities across the US on 28 April 2007. Over 68,000 people participated in the event which required participants to sleep outside in "homes" made out of cardboard, similar to those in the IDPs. Another program, The Name Campaign, asks people to wear nameplate necklaces imprinted with the first name of one of the thousands of abducted children as a means of raising public awareness.
Danny Glover Danny Glover ( ; born July 22, 1946) is an American actor, producer, and political activist. Over his career he has received List of awards and nominations received by Danny Glover, numerous accolades including the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian A ...
and
Don Cheadle Donald Frank Cheadle Jr. (, ; born November 29, 1964) is an American actor. Known for his roles in film and television, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Don Cheadle, multiple accolades including two Golden Globe Award ...
have both been vocal advocates on behalf of the children of Northern Uganda. On 5 March 2012, the Invisible Children organization posted the '' Kony 2012'' video on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
which was widely seen. As of 22 March, 2023, the film had over 103 million views on video-sharing website
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
.


See also

* List of ongoing military conflicts * List of conflicts in Africa * Child soldiers in Africa


References


Sources

* Allen, Tim."Trial Justice: The International Criminal Court and the Lord's Resistance Army", African Arguments Series, Zed Books, London, 2006. * Behrend, H. (M. Cohen, trans.) ''Alice Lakwena and the Holy Spirits: War in Northern Uganda, 1985–97'', James Currey, 2000. . (Originally published as Behrend, H. 1993. ''Alice und die Geister: Krieg in Norden Uganda''. Trickster, Munich.) ** "War in Northern Uganda: The Holy Spirit Movements of Alice Lakwena, Severino Lukoya and Joseph Kony (1986–1997)", in Clapham, C. ed. ''African Guerrillas''. James Currey, Oxford, 1998. * De Temmerman, E. ''Aboke Girls: Children Abducted in Northern Uganda'', Fountain, 2001. . (Originally published as De Temmerman, E. ''De meisjes van Aboke: Kindsoldaten in Noord-Oeganda''. De Kern, 2000. .) * Doom, R. and K. Vlassenroot. "Kony's message: a new ''koine''? The Lord's Resistance Army in Northern Uganda," ''African Affairs'' 98 (390) 1999: 5 to 36 * Eichstaedt, Peter. ''First Kill Your Family: Child Soldiers of Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army''. Lawrence Hill Books. 2008. * Gingyera-Pincywa, A.G. "Is there a Northern Question?" in K. Rupesinghe, ed. ''Conflict Resolution in Uganda'', International Peace Research Institute, Oslo, 1989. * Jackson, P. "The March of the Lord's Resistance Army: Greed or Grievance in Northern Uganda?" ''Small Wars and Insurgencies'' 13, no. 3 (Autumn 2002): 29 to 52. * Ofcansky, T. "Warfare and Instability Along the Sudan-Uganda Border: A Look at the Twentieth Century" in Spaulding, J. and S. Beswick, eds. ''White Nile, Black Blood: War, Leadership, and Ethnicity from Khartoum to Kampala''. Red Sea Press, Lawrenceville, New Jersey: 195–210, 2000. * Pham PN, Vinck P, Stover E. "The Lord's Resistance Army and Forced Conscription in Northern Uganda.", ''Human Rights Quarterly'' 30:404–411, 2008 * Vinck P, Pham PN, Weinstein HM, Stover E. Exposure to War Crimes and its Implications for Peace Building in Northern Uganda. ''Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)'' 298 (5): 543–554, 2007 * Ward, K. "'The Armies of the Lord': Christianity, Rebels and the State in Northern Uganda, 1986–1999", ''Journal of Religion in Africa'' 31 (2), 2001. * AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES "LRA commander Dominic Ongwen sentenced to 25 years in prison" Al Jazeera news , Lords Resistance Army


External links


International Center for Transitional Justice, Uganda


GlobalSecurity.org
Invisible Children
advocacy group and documentary about LRA's child soldiers
News about Uganda
from the UN Integrated Regional Information Networks
Compiled recent news articles about Uganda
AllAfrica.com
Uganda page
Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...
(extensive links from before mid-2004)
Survey of War Affected Youth (SWAY): Research & Programs for Youth in Armed Conflict in Uganda


outlines and defends the LRA's political views. {{DR Congo conflicts footer *Insurgency Civil wars of the 20th century Civil wars of the 21st century Insurgencies in Africa Religion-based civil wars Peacekeeping missions and operations involving the African Union Civil wars in Uganda Civil wars in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Civil wars in Sudan Civil wars in South Sudan Civil wars in the Central African Republic Wars involving the United States