Why turmoil in the Central African Republic and South Sudan is dream come true for the LRA

In CAR, there has been intense violence between local self-defence militias, called anti-Balaka (which translates to ‘anti-machete’) and Séléka forces.

To start, let’s agree that the violent crises unfolding in both the Central African Republic (CAR) and South Sudan deserve our attention. Every human being deserves protection from violence and the promotion of their basic human rights — and that alone should compel us to seriously and thoughtfully engage the injustices taking place in CAR and South Sudan. Furthermore, the ongoing turmoil and chaos in both of these countries should be of particular concern to us, given its close proximity to areas of LRA activity. We at Invisible Children have been working for almost a decade to help end LRA violence and we are committed to finishing the job. It’s therefore important that we ask how this regional instability affects our specific mission. A report recently published by our partners at Enough puts it this way:

Clearly this is very disheartening news for a region desperately in need of peace and stability. Still, the Enough Project’s report balances a realistic assessment of the new challenges facing counter-LRA efforts, while offering recommendations for how to help ensure continued progress. Collaborative efforts to stop the LRA are bearing fruit, and the LRA are at their weakest ever capacity. At present, international efforts are closer than ever before to dismantling the LRA for good. It is critical that the international community does not allow Joseph Kony to successfully exploit new instability around him. Here are four ways that the present regional upheaval is affecting (or could affect) the mission to stop the LRA:

Currently, Ugandan involvement in South Sudan is not directly affecting their commitment to the counter-LRA mission. However, it’s not outlandish to predict that forces from the Ugandan Army (the UPDF) could be re-deployed to South Sudan if the unrest continues. The UPDF, supported by approximately 100 US military advisers, is far and away the main player in the mission to stop the LRA. Their continued commitment is vital to seeing the job finished.

3. THE LRA MAY BE ABLE TO FIND NEW SAFE HAVENS

The escalating violence in CAR and South Sudan has drawn attention away from LRA activity. If the international community becomes distracted, the group could find new places in which to hide, re-strategize and gain resources and strength. One of the reasons we’ve been seeing such progress in the mission to stop the LRA is because they have lost many of the places they used to be able to operate un-impeded. They should not be allowed to find new places from which to comfortably operate.

4. JOSEPH KONY AND HIS LRA ARE EXPERTS AT EXPLOITING POLITICAL WEAKNESS

For example, in November 2013 the then interim president of CAR, Michel Djotodia (who resigned in December) claimed that he’d personally spoken with Kony about his potential surrender. It’s extremely unlikely that Kony had any such desire to give up arms, and the LRA exploited the situation to gain hard to get supplies (including ropes, tarp, food and medicine). Kony and the LRA have a history of taking advantage of political instability, and recent events show they are still adept at it.

The way that the current chaos in CAR and South Sudan is playing into the LRA story underscores how important it is to see an end, once and for all, to the LRA conflict. For communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic and South Sudan to be able to live without the fear of the LRA, we must see Kony and his top commanders removed from the battle field, and the safe return home of every abducted man, woman and child.

We’re not waiting for Kony’s unlikely surrender. Donate to fund our life saving programs that are rescuing child soldiers from Joseph Kony’s LRA.

 

(Photo credit: Donatella Rover)