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Lord's Resistance Army

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Conflict and Peace

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   The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), formed in 1987, is a rebel
   paramilitary group operating mainly in northern Uganda. The group is
   engaged in an armed rebellion against the Ugandan government in what is
   now one of Africa's longest-running conflicts. It is led by Joseph
   Kony, who proclaims himself a spirit medium, and apparently wishes to
   establish a state based on his unique interpretation of the Acholi
   religious syncretism and Biblical millenarianism. The LRA have been
   accused of widespread human rights violations, including mutilation,
   torture, rape, the abduction of civilians, the use of child soldiers
   and a number of massacres.
   The conflict forces many civilians to live in internally displaced
   person (IDP) camps. The Labuje IDP camp (pictured) is near Kitgum Town.
   Enlarge
   The conflict forces many civilians to live in internally displaced
   person (IDP) camps. The Labuje IDP camp (pictured) is near Kitgum Town.

Background

   The January 1986 overthrow of President Tito Okello, an ethnic Acholi,
   by the National Resistance Army (NRA) of southwest Ugandan Yoweri
   Museveni marked a period of intense turmoil. The Acholi feared the loss
   of their traditional dominance of the national military; they were also
   deeply concerned that the NRA would seek retribution for the brutal
   counterinsurgency, particularly the actions of the army in the Luwero
   triangle. By August of that year, a full-blown popular insurgency had
   developed in northern regions that were occupied by government forces.

Early history of the LRA (1987 to 1994)

   Areas affected by the LRA insurgency post-2002
   Enlarge
   Areas affected by the LRA insurgency post-2002

   In January 1987 Joseph Kony made his first appearance as a spirit
   medium, one of many who emerged after the initial success of the Holy
   Spirit Movement of Alice Auma. Former Uganda People's Democratic Army
   commander Odong Latek convinced Kony to adopt conventional guerrilla
   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. 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

   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. As part of Operation North,
   Acholi Betty Oyella Bigombe, the Minister charged with ending the
   insurgency, created "Arrow Groups" mostly armed with bows and arrows,
   as a form of local defence. As the LRA was armed with modern weaponry,
   the bow-and-arrow groups were overpowered. Nevertheless, 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 who 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.

   After the failure of Operation North, Minister Bigombe initiated the
   first face-to-face meeting between representatives of the LRA and
   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 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
   Sudanese 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 announced a seven-day
   deadline for the LRA to surrender. This ultimatum ended the Bigombe
   initiative.

An international conflict (1994 to 2002)

   Two women whose lips have been cut off by LRA rebels socialize in Gulu
   District
   Two women whose lips have been cut off by LRA rebels socialize in Gulu
   District

   Two weeks after Museveni delivered his ultimatum of 6 February 1994,
   LRA fighters were reported to have crossed the northern border and
   established bases in southern Sudan with the approval of the Khartoum
   government. Sudanese aid was a response to Ugandan support for the
   rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) fighting in the civil war
   in the south of the country. Also, having become convinced that the
   Acholi were now collaborating with the Museveni government, Kony began
   to target the civilians using his increased military strength.
   Mutilations became commonplace, and 1994 saw the first mass forced
   abduction of children and young people. The most famous of these was
   the Aboke abductions of 139 female students in October 1996. As most of
   the LRA combatants are abducted children, a military solution is widely
   seen 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
   vital in understanding the current conflict.

   The creation of government "protected villages" beginning in 1996
   further deepened the antagonistic attitude that many Acholi have toward
   the government, especially as the population continues to be attacked
   by the LRA even within the "protected camps." The camps are also
   crowded, unsanitary, and miserable places to live. Meanwhile, in 1997
   the Sudanese government of the National Islamic Front had begun to back
   away from its previous hard-line stance. Following the September 11,
   2001 attacks in the U.S., 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 to their homes. The number of people
   displaced by the conflict declined to about half a million, and people
   began to talk openly of the day when the "protected camps" would be
   disbanded.

The insurgency flares (March 2002 to September 2005)

   In March 2002, the 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 had been deployed in the Democratic
   Republic of Congo upon the official end of the Second Congo War,
   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 and
   of a brutality not seen since 1995 to 1996, resulting in widespread
   displacement and suffering in regions that had never previously been
   touched by the insurgency.

   A series of diplomatic initiatives during these years failed,
   especially as the exact negotiating position of Kony 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." In December 2003, Ugandan
   President Museveni referred the LRA to the International Criminal Court
   (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 have 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 had escaped the LRA into the military.

   In mid-September 2005, a band of LRA fighters, led by Vincent Otti,
   crossed into the Democratic Republic of the Congo (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. 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 demanding that an economic embargo
   be placed on Uganda in retaliation.

Effects

   A market stall in an IDP camp
   Enlarge
   A market stall in an IDP camp

   The insurgency has been historically contained to the region known as
   Acholiland, consisting of the districts of Kitgum, Gulu, and Pader,
   though since 2002 violence has overflowed into other Ugandan districts.
   The LRA has also operated across the porous border region with Southern
   Sudan and most recently into the northeastern Ituri Province of the
   Democratic Republic of the Congo. The plight of the affected peoples
   has received little media coverage in the developed world. Not until
   April 2004 did the UN Security Council 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 neighboring DRC.

   The U.S. government estimates that up to 12,000 people have been killed
   in the violence, with many more dying from disease and malnutrition as
   a direct result of the conflict. Nearly two million civilians have been
   forced to flee their homes, living in internally displaced person (IDP)
   camps and within the safety of larger settlements, sleeping on street
   corners and in other public spaces.

                                     War violence experienced by abductees
                                                   Witnessed a killing 78%
                                                     Tied or locked up 68%
                                             Received a severe beating 63%
                                   Forced to steal or destroy property 58%
                                           Forced to abuse dead bodies 23%
                                           Forced to attack a stranger 22%
                                             Forced to kill a stranger 20%
                          Forced to kill an opposing soldier in battle 15%
                            Forced to attack a family member or friend 14%
                               Forced to kill a family member or friend 8%

   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, 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. A 2006 survey of 750 youth in Kitgum and Pader
   concluded that the UN estimate was a significant underestimate.
   According to the survey, 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. 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 so far. Ongoing
   peace negotiations have been complicated by an investigation by the
   International Criminal Court. The conflict continues to retard 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.
   Room of child "night commuters"
   Enlarge
   Room of child "night commuters"

Night Commuters

   Each night, children between the ages of 3 and 17, referred to as
   "Night Commuters" or "Night Dwellers" walk up to 20 kilometres (12
   miles) from IDP camps to larger towns, especially Gulu, in search of
   safety.

   Initiatives to raise international awareness for these children include
   the " Gulu Walks" and the work of the Uganda Conflict Action Network.
   Night commuters are also the subject of documentaries such as Stolen
   Children, Wardance, and Invisible Children.

   The Invisible Children documentary sponsors the Global Night Commute,
   an event similar to Gulu Walks. 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 and Don Cheadle have both been vocal
   advocates on behalf of the children of Northern Uganda.

Latest developments

ICC arrest warrants

   Number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), and IDPs as a percentage
   of total population in northern Ugandan districts.
   Enlarge
   Number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), and IDPs as a percentage
   of total population in northern Ugandan districts.

   The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on 8 July and
   27 September 2005 against Joseph Kony, his deputy Vincent Otti, and LRA
   commanders Raska Lukwiya, Okot Odiambo and Dominic Ongwen. The five LRA
   leaders are charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes,
   including murder, rape, sexual slavery, and enlisting of children as
   combatants. The warrants were filed under seal; public redacted
   versions were released on 13 October 2005. These were the first
   warrants issued by the ICC since it was established in 2002. Details of
   the warrants had been sent to the three countries where the LRA is
   active: Uganda, Sudan and Congo (DRC). The LRA leadership had long
   stated that they would never surrender unless they were granted
   immunity from prosecution, and the ICC order to arrest them seemed to
   guarantee that the insurgency would not have a negotiated end.

   A group of LRA soldiers ambushed a team of humanitarian deminers from
   the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) between Juba and Yei on 31
   October 2005. Two deminers were killed, one Iraqi and one Sudanese.
   This follows a previous abduction of a FSD survey team on 13 September
   (in which the LRA did not kill anyone). OLS and UN Security gave a
   travel warning to all UN and non-UN agencies on 1 November 2005. The
   LRA then declared that it was deliberately targeting NGOs, and
   especially international staff members.

   On 30 November 2005 LRA deputy commander, Vincent Otti, contacted the
   BBC announcing a renewed desire among the LRA leadership to hold peace
   talks with the Ugandan government. The government expressed skepticism
   regarding the overture but stated their openness to peaceful resolution
   of the conflict.

   On 2 June 2006, Interpol issued five wanted person red notices to 184
   countries on behalf of the ICC, which has no police of its own. Kony
   had been previously reported to have met Vice President of Southern
   Sudan Riek Machar. The next day, Human Rights Watch reported that the
   regional Government of Southern Sudan had ignored previous ICC warrants
   for the arrest of four of LRA's top leaders, and instead supplied the
   LRA with cash and food as an incentive to stop them from attacking
   southern Sudanese citizens.

Juba peace talks

   Lord's Resistance Army

   HSM - Alice Auma
   Joseph Kony

   1987-1994
   1994-2002
   2002-2005
   ICC - Juba talks

   Bibliography

   A series of ongoing meetings have been held in Juba since July 2006
   between the government of Uganda and the LRA. The talks are mediated by
   Riek Machar, the Vice President of Southern Sudan, and by the Community
   of Sant'Egidio. The talks, which had resulted in a ceasefire by
   September 2006, have been either described as the best chance for a
   negotiated settlement ever or 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. In late
   June 2006, the Government of Southern Sudan formally invited Uganda to
   attend peace talks , and on July 14, 2006 talks began in Juba. 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. Regardless, the government and 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, where the
   Ugandan government would not attack and the government of Southern
   Sudan guaranteed their safety. 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 broader context, the government of Southern Sudan views the talks as
   a means of ridding itself of a foreign army that is complicating their
   delicate relationship with the Khartoum government. The request by the
   Ugandan Government for ICC to suspend war crimes indictments against
   leaders of the LRA, condemned by international human rights groups but
   largely supported by leaders and civilians within northern Uganda, led
   some political analysts to see Ugandan Government's request as a ploy
   to gain local support.
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