I was shocked to hear about tens of thousands of kids in far-off northern Uganda being abducted by Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army who forced the children at gunpoint to kill their mothers, their brothers, and their friends.
I asked: Why were children, as young as eight years old, dying and getting their lips cut off? And for what? The rebel leader, Joseph Kony, seemed to have no popular support. Like the makers of "Kony " I decided I could not stand idly by. I became committed to helping end one of the deadliest wars in Africa by helping children brutalized by Kony and the LRA. We gathered evidence at massacre sites — wooden clubs covered in dried blood, rubber strips from bicycle tires used to tie up the victims, and freshly dug graves — and spoke to hundreds of boys and girls forced to fight for his army or held captive as sex slaves.
It swiftly degenerated into one of the most brutal and merciless of armed groups, able to replenish its ranks only by abducting, terrorizing and brainwashing children to fight. Its forces, currently thought to number fighters plus hundreds of captive civilians, left Uganda in and now operate in remote areas of Congo , South Sudan and the CAR , leaving a trail of death and destruction among all those in its path.
The group struck again in recent weeks, with attacks on villages in northern Congo. Residents of this region have already endured innumerable atrocities at the hands of the LRA, including massacres that took the lives of civilians in late and early I remember clearly the story of a year-old grandfather who had survived by hiding in the bushes and watched as the LRA slaughtered his family and fellow villagers.
They killed all I was horrified. I knew all these people. They were my family, my friends, my neighbors. When they finished I slipped away and went to my home, where I sat trembling all over. He remains haunted by the experience. Human Rights Watch has long urged a concerted international response to assist regional efforts to arrest Kony and other LRA leaders, who since have been subject to arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court.
Any such action requires stepped-up protection for civilians in the regions where the LRA operates to prevent the inevitable retaliatory attacks. There is also a dire need to rescue children and adults captured by the LRA — including many who are forced to fight — and to help those who manage to escape. In , the US Congress passed a law that called on President Barack Obama to develop a comprehensive strategy to protect civilians and to work with the governments in central Africa to bring the LRA leaders to justice.
The law offered hope to many in the region who had long felt forgotten. It would be unfortunate if the LRA returned because they were allowed too. There is also unease in CAR. On 16 April, civilians in Obbo town, which has been the tactical headquarters for Ugandan and US forces, demonstrated , calling for the troops to stay.
But the Ugandan government has hinted that it will not step away altogether from an insurgency that began in Uganda almost three decades ago, and was then exported to its neighbours.
Ogora, the head of the Gulu-based foundation, also favours a military option, drawing on the UN and regional armies to "neutralise" the LRA once and for all. According to Dranginis, "the United States should continue supporting defection campaigns" as it has proved successful in "weakening the group and creating opportunities for fighters and abductees to leave.
Demobilisation and reintegration is a complex process, she added, but it "can pay dividends for security in the region". Log in. Remember Me. Forgot password? Email this document Printable version. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content.
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