Mercy Southam, one of the LRA Crisis Tracker Project Developers in our San Diego headquarters, is compiling weekly reports based on data generated from IC’s Early Warning Radio Network, the UN, and organizations on the ground. She will be breaking down the information and highlighting specified activity in the weekly blog post, On The Radar. For real-time updates on LRA attacks, check out LRA Crisis Tracker online, or follow us on Twitter @CrisisTracker.

Since the online World Premiere of KONY 2012, the LRA has continued its recent activities of abducting civilians and using some of them as porters. While most are released within 24 hours, many abducted civilians are not released and remain in captivity.

Since March 5th, the LRA has abducted a total of 33 people. 22 were released shortly after their abduction, but 11 are suspected to still be in LRA captivity.

One civilian has been killed in the last two weeks. On March 17th, LRA combatants tied a man up and shot him in his home in Tomati, DRC, after he reportedly tried to protect his two sons from abduction.

The following are a few other notable incidents reported in the last week:

On March 18th, near Tomati, DRC, 2 men (both aged over 25 years old) managed to escape from LRA captivity during a clash with local security forces.

On March 17th, near Buye, DRC, LRA released 3 men and 2 women with a message to the public. The message simply stated that civilians should remain calm, and “not shout” upon seeing LRA combatants.

On March 11th, near Akua, DRC, there was a series of 3 abductions throughout the day by the same group of LRA. Each of the abductees was utilized as a porter of looted goods. All 3 men were subsequently released later that evening.
On March 17th, LRA forces attacked the community of Tomati, DRC. They killed 1 man, abducted 3 children, and looted 9 homes. The children are still in captivity.