LORD'S RESISTANCE ARMY-UGANDA
The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has been an active force since 1986, making it one of Africa’s oldest, most violent, and most persistent armed groups. The LRA was formed in northern Uganda to fight against its standing government. The conflict stretched from 1986 until 2006. During the height of the conflict, almost 2 million people from northern Uganda were displaced.
When lacking support, the LRA turned to forcible recruitment to grow their numbers. A UNICEF 2006 study found that an estimated 66,000 children were abducted by the LRA between 1986 and 2005. Some were released after a brief time of service but most remained child soldiers or were sold as sex slaves.
In 2005 and 2006, the LRA and its leader Joseph Kony, due to increasing pressure, withdrew from Uganda and moved their operations west into the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Central African Republic (CAR), and the eventual Republic of South Sudan. From 2006 to 2008, peace negotiations were attempted with multiple peace treaties created, none of which Joseph Kony would agree to sign. Instead, LRA abductions and attacks increased in the DRC and CAR.
While in more recent years, the LRAs numbers of core fighters have decreased, they remain widely recognized as a threat due to the incredibly violent nature of their attacks and the fear they create amongst villages. In 2005, arrest warrants were issued for Joseph Kony and four other top commanders of the LRA. In November of 2011, the African Union formally designated the LRA as a terrorist group and as of today, the LRA and Joseph Kony still remain active and the search for them to bring them to justice continues.
The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has been an active force since 1986, making it one of Africa’s oldest, most violent, and most persistent armed groups. The LRA was formed in northern Uganda to fight against its standing government. The conflict stretched from 1986 until 2006. During the height of the conflict, almost 2 million people from northern Uganda were displaced.
When lacking support, the LRA turned to forcible recruitment to grow their numbers. A UNICEF 2006 study found that an estimated 66,000 children were abducted by the LRA between 1986 and 2005. Some were released after a brief time of service but most remained child soldiers or were sold as sex slaves.
In 2005 and 2006, the LRA and its leader Joseph Kony, due to increasing pressure, withdrew from Uganda and moved their operations west into the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Central African Republic (CAR), and the eventual Republic of South Sudan. From 2006 to 2008, peace negotiations were attempted with multiple peace treaties created, none of which Joseph Kony would agree to sign. Instead, LRA abductions and attacks increased in the DRC and CAR.
While in more recent years, the LRAs numbers of core fighters have decreased, they remain widely recognized as a threat due to the incredibly violent nature of their attacks and the fear they create amongst villages. In 2005, arrest warrants were issued for Joseph Kony and four other top commanders of the LRA. In November of 2011, the African Union formally designated the LRA as a terrorist group and as of today, the LRA and Joseph Kony still remain active and the search for them to bring them to justice continues.
Referenceshttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Ugandan_districts_affected_by_Lords_Resistance_Army.png
http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2012/03/07/TroopsWorldwide_1-7af7bcdbe387e251e5fb7eb2f590b095b6e49713-s6-c30.jpg
http://enoughproject.org/files/142/lramap5.jpg
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/03/186734.htm
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/08/world/africa/in-south-sudan-a-ghost-of-wars-past-child-soldiers.html?_r=0
http://www.child-soldiers.org/country_reader.php?id=3
http://www.wmd.org/resources/whats-being-done/ngo-participation-peace-negotiations/history-conflict-democratic-republic
file:///Users/beckyrosen/Downloads/congodemocraticrepublicof7740484.pdf
http://www.globalhumanitarianassistance.org/report/central-african-republic-the-forgotten-crisis
http://reliefweb.int/
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/
http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2012/03/07/TroopsWorldwide_1-7af7bcdbe387e251e5fb7eb2f590b095b6e49713-s6-c30.jpg
http://enoughproject.org/files/142/lramap5.jpg
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/03/186734.htm
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/08/world/africa/in-south-sudan-a-ghost-of-wars-past-child-soldiers.html?_r=0
http://www.child-soldiers.org/country_reader.php?id=3
http://www.wmd.org/resources/whats-being-done/ngo-participation-peace-negotiations/history-conflict-democratic-republic
file:///Users/beckyrosen/Downloads/congodemocraticrepublicof7740484.pdf
http://www.globalhumanitarianassistance.org/report/central-african-republic-the-forgotten-crisis
http://reliefweb.int/
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/