Is Sudan Backing Joseph Kony's LRA?

Ugandan Army Says Sudan Is Backing Joseph Kony's LRA -- BBC

The Ugandan army says the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) led by Joseph Kony is being supported and supplied by the Sudanese government.

The LRA is accused of rape, mutilation, murder and the recruitment of child soldiers.

A Ugandan army colonel told the BBC they had captured a member of the LRA who was wearing a Sudanese uniform, and carried its weapons and ammunition.

The US has sent special forces to help in the hunt for Mr Kony.

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My Comment: I have some doubts that the Sudanese government is assisting the LRA. The Sudan government has enough on it's plate, and getting involved in another war ..... especially against forces backed by the U.S. .... does not strike me as a wise and thoughtful move on their part..

U.S. Special Forces Aid In The Hunt Of African Warlord Joseph Kony

In Vast Jungle, U.S. Troops Aid In Search For Kony -- New York Times

OBO, Central African Republic — It has got to be one of the oddest matchups in United States military history.

One hundred of America’s elite Special Operations troops, aided by night vision scopes and satellite imagery, are helping African forces find a wig-wearing, gibberish-speaking fugitive rebel commander named Joseph Kony who has been hiding out in the jungle for years with a band of child soldiers and a harem of dozens of child brides.

No one knows exactly where Mr. Kony is, but here in Obo, at a remote forward operating post in the Central African Republic, Green Berets pore over maps and interview villagers, hopeful for a clue.

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More News On The U.S. Assisting In The Search For LRA Leader Kony

US special forces help in hunt for warlord Kony -- FOX News/AP
U.S. lends support in hunt for notorious African warlord -- CNN
Video: U.S. special forces search for LRA leader Joseph Kony -- Digital Journal
US special forces continue aiding Kony search -- Al Jazera
US soldiers play part in hunt for Joseph Kony -- BBC
Rebel chief Kony 'in Sudan-S.Sudan border areas' -- AFP
Kony hunt: US forces combine tech with nomad intelligence -- First Post
Support from locals seen as key to capturing Kony -- AP
Joseph Kony hunt is proving difficult for U.S. troops -- Washington Post
How US special forces help in the hunt for Joseph Kony -- Christian Science Monitor

100 U.S. Special Forces To Be Sent to Uganda -- News Roundup

No Combat Role For U.S. Advisers In Uganda, Official Says -- New York Times

KAMPALA, Uganda — Most of the 100 military advisers being sent to Uganda to help hunt down the Lord’s Resistance Army, a brutal guerrilla group in central Africa, will stay in Uganda, which the group has not attacked in years, an American government official said Monday.

Speaking at a news conference at the American Embassy in Kampala, the official, Virginia Blaser, the chargé d’affaires, said the operation would begin this month and did not have a deadline.

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More News On US Special Forces Going To Uganda

Ugandan troops had wanted LRA leader in its sights -- Boston.com/AP
Fanfare Masks Doubts on U.S. Anti-Rebel Push in Africa -- New York Times/Reuters
Some Ugandans Wary of US Decision to Fight LRA -- Voice of America
US denies interest in Uganda oil -- New Vision (Uganda)
LRA's Joseph Kony: Leader of 23-Year Terror Campaign -- Voice of America
A Terrorist by Any Other Name -- Ron Capps, Time
Can the U.S. Finally Defeat the Lord's Resistance Army? -- Max Fisher, The Atlantic

Is The African Rebel Army LRA In Decline

Lord's Resistance Army rebels. Photo from The Guardian

LRA Rebels Dwindling, Uganda Says -- CBC News

The number of soldiers in the Lord's Resistance Army — a Ugandan rebel group known for its brutality and child abductions — has fallen to just a few hundred, a spokesman for the Ugandan military said Tuesday.

At its height in 2003, the LRA had 5,000 members, but Ugandan army spokesman Felix Kulayigye said the rebel group's ranks likely number just 200 now.

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More News On The LRA Rebel Army

Lord's Resistance Army troop numbers dwindling, leader Kony enters Sudan, official says -- Canadian Press
LRA rebel numbers dwindling, Ugandan official says -- San Francisco Chronicle/AP
Ugandan army says LRA's Kony now in Darfur -- Radio Free Europe
Feared rebel army has dwindled, report says -- Scotsman

How a Ugandan Rebel Group Uses Technology -- The Atlantic
The Lord’s Resistance Army of Today -- Relief Web
Without Sudan, it will be impossible to successfully confront the LRA -- Christian Science Monitor
Central Africa says 'fight LRA like Al-Qaeda' -- AFP
Activists, Victims Await US Action Against LRA -- Voice of America
Using US troops to arrest LRA leader Joseph Kony is a bad idea -- Christian Science Monitor

Africa Finally Facing Up To The Lord Resistance Army

Lord's Resistance Army rebels. Photo from The Guardian

Arresting LRA Leader Joseph Kony Is More Complex Than You Think -- Christian Science Monitor

Many assume the US knows where LRA leader Joseph Kony is, but multinational military and diplomatic engagement will be necessary to track him down – and even that might not be enough.

“Only Mr. God knows,” is the short answer to Kony’s whereabouts, as a former LRA commander recently told Enough.

Kony might be in Sudan’s South Darfur region as a recent article claims. In reality, no one – or very few people in the world – really knows where Kony is at the moment. He may well have succumbed to a bout of malaria or worsening case of syphilis.

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More News On The Lord's Resistance Army

Ugandan Rebels Threaten Southern Sudan's Referendum -- Voice of America
LRA rebels kill and displace thousands in central Africa: UN -- AFP
LRA rebels to be given 'terrorist' status: African Union -- AFP
4 countries to move against Ugandan rebels -- UPI
Central Africa agrees to jointly combat LRA rebels -- New Vision
Four African nations crack down on LRA -- BBC
Can a joint military force defeat the LRA? -- BBC

Africa's Ruthless Guerrilla Movement That Won't Die

The Ruthless Guerrilla Movement That Won't Die -- Time Magazine

The night began like any other. Sarah John was busy preparing the evening fire at her village, when suddenly, seven armed men appeared from among the shadows. "They were dirty and smelly, had ragged clothes and hair unlike any normal human being," she says now, three weeks after the incident. The uninivited visitors began ransacking her place, destroying whatever they could not carry away. When the intruder assigned to guard her stepped away to relieve himself, she escaped.

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More News On the LRA

Lord's Resistance Army terrorizing people of Southern Sudan -- CNN
U.N. E-Mail Shows Early Warning of Congo Rapes -- New York Times
Rebel LRA attacks in south Sudan 'on the increase' -- BBC
LRA spreading reign of terror in south Sudan -- AFP
SUDAN: Fear of LRA causes thousands to flee in Western Equatoria -- IRIN
How about that LRA strategy? -- Foreign Policy
Ugandan rebels said to kill 255 in central Africa -- AP
Child soldier from Uganda tells of great escape from LRA rebels -- The Guardian
Uganda LRA rebels 'on massive forced recruitment drive' -- BBC
Report: LRA Recruiting Child Soldiers in DRC, CAR -- Voice of America
Uganda's LRA 'seizes hundreds' -- Al Jazeera
Report - Lord's Resistance Army Creates New Safe Haven in Northeastern region -- AllAfrica.com

LRA Is Becoming The Main Instrument Of Terror In The Center Of Africa

A map from The BBC in 2008

LRA Spreading Reign Of Terror In South Sudan -- Yahoo News/AFP

NZARA, Sudan (AFP) – When the dreadlocked gunmen burst out of the jungle at night firing AK-47 assault rifles, the men of the village took up bows and arrows to defend their families.

But the brave defence was futile. The rebels from the Lord?s Resistance Army (LRA) simply shot the men and dragged off others into the forest to join their force.

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Previous Post: A New Reign Of Terror By The Lord's Resistance Army

My Comment: After years of fighting, one would think that this conflict would come to some sort of conclusion. But fueled with conflict minerals and being confronted by weak central governments, I suspect that this war and spread of terror will continue for a very long time.

A New Reign Of Terror By The Lord's Resistance Army

Uganda LRA Rebels 'On Massive Forced Recruitment Drive' -- BBC News

Uganda's rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has been accused of going on a massive forced recruitment campaign in remote areas of central Africa.

Human Rights Watch said the group had brutally abducted at least 697 adults and children over the past 18 months.

Civilians were said to have been taken in remote regions of the Central African Republic (CAR) and the north of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The LRA, led by Joseph Kony, has fought the Ugandan government since 1986.

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More News On The LRA

The Lord's Resistance Army's new reign of terror -- The Independent
Ugandan LRA rebels abduct, kill hundreds - group -- Reuters
Report: Rebel group abducts 700, kills 225, in unreported campaign -- CNN
Report: LRA Recruiting Child Soldiers in DRC, CAR -- Voice of America
Uganda's LRA Abducts 700 People to Replenish Its Ranks, Rights Group Says -- Bloomberg
Rights Group: Uganda Rebels Abduct Hundreds -- Wall Street Journal
LRA on murder rampage, HRW says -- UPI
Ugandan rebels said to kill 255 in central Africa -- Yahoo News/AP
Uganda's LRA 'seizes hundreds' -- Al Jazeera
Kony orders massive abduction -- The New Vision
Report: Uganda LRA rebels 'on massive forced recruitment drive' -- Congo Planet

Massacre Of Hundreds Being Reported In The Democratic Republic Of Congo

Lord’s Resistance Army Killed 321 People In Democratic Republic Of Congo -- Times Online

At least 321 people were killed and hundreds were abducted in one of the worst massacres by Africa’s most feared rebel group, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), in the Democratic Republic of Congo in December.

A three-year-old girl was burnt to death during the attack on men, women and children, an investigation by a human rights group has revealed.

Villagers who escaped death were sent back with their lips and ears cut off as a warning to others of what would happen if they talked — a tactic used frequently by the LRA, which has terrorised much of northern Uganda and the border areas with Sudan and Congo for more than two decades.

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More News On The Massacre Of Civilians In The Democratic Republic Of Congo

Human Rights Watch says Lord's Resistance Army rampage killed 321 in the Congo -- Christian Science Monitor
DR Congo rebel massacre of hundreds is uncovered -- BBC
Rights Group Says Rebels Killed 321 Villagers in DRC -- Voice of America
Rebels kill, kidnap hundreds in remote Congo area -- CNN
'Stench of death' in Congo confirms resurgence of Lord's Resistance Army -- The Guardian
Fleeing Rebels Kill Hundreds of Congolese -- New York Times
LRA Killed Hundreds In Late 2009 Congo Massacre -- New York Times/Reuters
DR Congo needs new strategy, says UN chief -- BBC

Uganda's Conflict Spreads To Congo, Where LRA Rebels Massacre Villagers

Lord’s Resistance Army rebels who have set up base in northern Congo hacked at Bertra Bamgbe’s face with a machete, cutting off half his left ear. Behind him is Kelele Annibetibe, who suffered a dozen stab wounds. Congolese villagers say Congo officials have failed to protect them in the face of a multination crackdown on the rebels. Edmund Sanders / Los Angeles Times

From The L.A. Times:

Rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army have killed about 250 Congolese in a string of attacks after their camps were bombed in a joint campaign by Congo, Uganda and Sudan.


Reporting from Doruma, Congo -- The rebels targeted churches on Christmas Day.

Men were killed first, often stripped of shirts and pants, and then bound with their arms behind their backs. Rather than waste bullets, the attackers hacked victims in the back of the neck with machetes or shattered their skulls with sticks.

"It happened step by step," said Joseph Kpayajadia, 58, a farmer who hid in the grass and saw his son being killed. "They held everyone together in a group and then took people five or six at a time into the bush to kill. Then they came back for more."

By the time the rampage ended, 254 people were dead in nine villages in a string of attacks that lasted several days, officials in Doruma estimate.

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My Comment: One of Africa's most brutal war continues .... and there is no hope in sight.