FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, D.C. – For more than two years, the Lord’s Resistance Army has been waging a ruthless campaign of terror – largely ignored by the outside world – against civilians in the Central African Republic, or CAR.
In a new report, “On the Heels of Kony: The Untold Tragedy Unfolding in the Central African Republic,” Enough Project Field Researcher Ledio Cakaj describes the LRA’s deadly but under-reported track record in a largely forgotten corner of Africa.
Based upon extensive interviews with eyewitnesses, the Enough Project report details 57 LRA attacks that resulted in hundreds of killings and abductions since February 2008.
“The LRA continues to brutalize and kidnap defenseless civilians across the Central African Republic,” states Cakaj. “There is a distinct risk that this widely dispersed rebel organization will regroup. The regional security threat posed by the LRA remains acute due to the lack of international attention to the ongoing violence in CAR.”
The report also reveals how LRA leader Joseph Kony, an internationally wanted war criminal, nearly fell into the grasp of the Ugandan army during the past year.
“The fact that the Ugandan army almost apprehended Kony by stumbling upon him demonstrates that the apprehension of the LRA’s leadership is an achievable task,” states Enough Project Executive Director John Norris. “However, the operations of the Ugandan army – the only military force pursuing the LRA in CAR – risk morphing into a war of attrition that will further endanger civilians. So it is incumbent upon the United States to lead a renewed international effort to protect civilians and apprehend the LRA’s leaders. Absent a new level of effort, the international community continues to do too little, too late to end the scourge of the LRA.”
Read the report, “On the Heels of Kony: The Untold Tragedy Unfolding in the Central African Republic.”
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Enough is a project of the Center for American Progress to end genocide and crimes against humanity. Founded in 2007, the Enough Project focuses on crises in Sudan, eastern Congo, northern Uganda, and Somalia. Enough’s strategy papers and briefings provide sharp field analysis and targeted policy recommendations based on a “3P” crisis response strategy: promoting durable peace, providing civilian protection, and punishing perpetrators of atrocities. Enough works with concerned citizens, advocates, and policy makers to prevent, mitigate, and resolve these crises. For more information, please visit www.enoughproject.org