Enough Project Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 12:01am EST, January 30, 2014
Contact: Carine Umuhumuza, [email protected], 202-478-5314
Kampala, Uganda and Washington,DC — U.S. military advisors and African partner forces are facing new difficulties in their mission to end the Lord’s Resistance Army, or LRA, and to capture rebel leader Joseph Kony, because of heightened regional instability and insufficient helicopter support, argues a new Enough Project report. Drawing on field research and interviews, the report, “Counter-LRA Mission Challenged by Regional Turmoil,” analyzes the effect of intensifying conflict in South Sudan and the Central African Republic on the LRA’s tactics and the counter-LRA mission’s resources.
The report’s author, Uganda-based Enough Project field researcher Kasper Agger, says:
“Violence in CAR and South Sudan is diverting attention and military forces from counter-LRA operations and providing a dream scenario for LRA rebels to hide and avoid capture. International resolve to end the LRA must be sustained. History has shown that when the pressure is off, the LRA rebuilds its forces through violent abductions and target vulnerable civilians.”
The counter-LRA mission also faces air transportation needs that exceed capacity. African troops and U.S. advisors need additional helicopters to be able to act on timely intelligence, conduct simultaneous operations to track top commanders in multiple locations, resupply deployed troops, protect civilians, and facilitate emergency evacuations. The new report argues that the U.S. government should send additional helicopters that have the speed, versatility, and transport capabilities that could best serve the mission and help counter-LRA forces keep pace with highly mobile LRA rebel groups that operate in vast and isolated areas.
The report also urges the U.N, African Union, European Union, and U.S. to maintain their current levels of financial, military, and diplomatic support for the AU-led efforts against the LRA to sustain momentum in the counter-LRA mission.
Read the report, "Counter-LRA Mission Challenged by Regional Turmoil": https://enoughproject.org/files/Counter-LRA%20Mission%20Challenged%20by%20Regional%20Turmoil.pdf
#
The Enough Project is a project of the Center for American Progress to end genocide and crimes against humanity. Founded in 2007, Enough focuses on the crises in Sudan, South Sudan, eastern Congo, and areas affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army. Enough conducts intensive field research, develops practical policies to address these crises, and shares sensible tools to empower citizens and groups working for change. To learn more about Enough, go to www.enoughproject.org.