I’ve been reading a few web articles on the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). It seems like every few weeks or so, a headline will appear in some periodical (BBC, al Jazeera, the NY Times, Washington Post) that reads “15 more killed in DRC [or Uganda or Sudan or Chad] by the LRA.” That said, I wanted to gain some understanding of the history of the LRA and its leader Joseph Kony.
In brief, what I read was that the LRA has been in existence for over 20 years. The organization (if you can call it that) has been abducting child soldiers, waging brutal violence on civilians, and spreading instability throughout Central Africa for longer than I’ve been alive.
The LRA formed after then-President of Uganda, Tito Okello Lutwa, was ousted from office. This coup brought in President Yoweri Musevin who remains Uganda’s president today. Lutwa’s is an ethnic Acholi from northern Uganada. During his time in power, Lutwa was unfriendly towards non-Acholi ethnic groups—the Center for Defense Information even states that he led massacres on other ethnic groups during his time in power.
When Lutwa was ousted from power, he and his supporters fled to northern Uganda to escape possible retribution by the new ethnic Munkyankole regime. In the wake of this political turmoil, the Holy Spirit Movement formed. Their mission was to protect and further the interests of ethnic Acholis.
Government forces, however, soon defeated this movement. In the resulting vacuum emerged Joseph Kony and the LRA.
The LRA’s purported mission is to create a state that follows the Ten Commandments. This is particularly ironic given that they violate nearly all of the commandments in their quest to create this utopian state. This quest to establish a Christian holy state is a guise for other motives. Joseph Kony and the LRA certainly seek personal wealth and power at the expense of their victims.
One of the great mysteries of the LRA is how they are able to survive. For a time, the Sudan government supplied weapons and supplies to the LRA. This, however, no longer seems to be the case. In 2002, Sudan allowed Ugandan forces to invade southern Sudan in order to fight LRA bases. In addition, Sudan and Uganda have since improved relations and Sudan (likely) has not given supplies to LRA forces for years.
So how is such a terrible group able to survive? How is a group that has no popular support—especially among the Acholi ethnic group it once purported to defend to survive? Additionally, how is a group that has no consistent income or access to resources able to persist? (Unlike the Taliban in Afghanistan that attain wealth via poppy or Laurent Nkunda’s forces that profit on diamonds, the LRA has no treasure chest of illicit trade that they can support themselves with). There are a couple of factors that enable the LRA’s continued existence.
Firstly, the geography of Central Africa and the command structure of the LRA make them difficult to fight conventionally. Every time, Ugandan and regional forces attack the LRA, the LRA quickly retreats into the thick brush of Central Africa and splits up into smaller cells. And when forces are frustrated by their search for tiny LRA cells, the LRA reemerges and attacks civilians with greater cruelty.
Secondly, the LRA’s method of recruitment is effective. The young child soldiers that the LRA abducts are often forced to kill their parents. This means that even if abductees were to escape they would feel terrible—if at all able—to return to their homes. As Kony brainwashes his child army further, escape becomes a difficult thing.
Note: graphics were taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord%27s_Resistance_Army
Links:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4647575
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1682747,00.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/09/AR2006050901907.html
http://www.truthout.org/031909E#comment-45745
http://www.cdi.org/program/document.cfm?documentid=2606&programID=39&from_page=../friendlyversion/printversion.cfm
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-uganda5jun05-splash,0,70542.story
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-060405uganda-fl,0,1201731.flash
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