LRA

LORD'S RESISTANCE ARMY (LRA)

The Lord’s Resistance Army is a rebel guerilla group operating in northern Uganda and parts of Sudan.  The group is currently involved in an armed rebellion against the Ugandan government in one of Africa’s longest-running conflicts.  Joseph Kony, a man who proclaims himself a spirit medium, leads the group and seeks to establish a state based on the Ten Commandments and Acholi tradition. 

The LRA has been accused of widespread human rights violations including torture, rape, mutilation, and the abduction and conscription of children to serve as soldiers.   It has been reported that as many as 20,000 children have been abducted into the group.

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.  These were the first warrants issued by the ICC and were made available to the public on 13 October 2005.  The LRA leadership has continued to state that they will refuse to surrender until the ICC indictments are dropped and the leaders are guaranteed immunity.

In November 2007 an LRA delegation arrived in Kampala to discuss a peaceful resolution to the conflict and asked for victims forgiveness. Unconfirmed reports have since surfaced that deputy commander Otti was executed in October 2007 over an internal power struggle with Kony.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Profile: Uganda’s LRA - 6 February 2004

Federation of American Scientists – Lord’s Resistance Army

Washington Post – A Child’s Hell in the Lord’s Resistance Army - 10 May 2006

National Public Radio – Child Soldier’s of the Lord’s Resistance Army - 9 August 2005