A picture of Dominic Ongwen taken during the Juba Peace Talks in 2008.

As reported last week, the Ugandan military clashed with LRA forces led by ICC indictee Dominic Ongwen, freeing two LRA and capturing LRA supplies. Ongwen was not captured in the seizure, but weapons, equipment, ammunition and guns were recovered and the base he used as his headquarters was destroyed.

And now new reports say that on this past Tuesday, Ugandan forces attacked a second group believed to be led by ICC-indictee and LRA commander, Dominic Ongwen. During this attack, one LRA combatant was killed and another rescued. It can be inferred from this information that the Ugandan military is closely tracking Ongwen’s group and has been close to capturing him multiple times this week. We will keep you updated as more information is made available.

Not only has this been an extremely active week for Ugandan military but it has been highly active for the LRA. A group that appears to be separate from Ongwen’s reportedly abducted 55 people from two communities over the weekend. Multiple sources in the region have provided us with an unclear picture of what occurred, with one source saying 19 were abducted and Reuters reporting an abduction of 55. We are currently following up with our contacts in CAR to try to better understand the LRA activities of the last week.

This highlights the desperate need for an information-gathering system in CAR. A large scale LRA abduction can occur and no definitive details are reported leaving us unsure of the location of the abductions and the number of people involved. This is extremely limiting to security forces in the region as they seek to protect civilians and it leaves communities at high-risk of LRA attack, with no information regarding LRA activity near their town.

(Photo Credit: BBC)