An article published today by the Associated Press discusses how the women and children abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army are suffering from hunger because Kony has ordered his men to stop raiding communities for food, apparently to avoid being detected.

Col. Joseph Balikkudembe said women and children have died from hunger while in the custody of the LRA, though he did not provide any death tolls. He said that pregnant women and children under 10 were suffering the most.

“The majority of the abductees are dying due to lack of food,” he told The Associated Press by email from the Central African Republic, where he is helping lead the manhunt for LRA fighters and their leader, Joseph Kony.

According to the LRA Crisis Tracker, at least five civilians were killed and 20 abducted in a rash of LRA attacks in the Central African Republic this year, as cited in Huffington Post, Seattle Times and Washington Post. The Crisis Tracker has also reported that suspected LRA fighters stole food and medicine from a health care center in Congo last week.

For continued access to the Crisis Tracker, follow us on Twitter @CrisisTracker or download the free iPhone app to stay up-to-date on the latest LRA activity.