Democratic Republic of Congo​, Uganda and Rwanda battle Lords Resistance Army

This item appears on page 20 of the March 2009 issue.

The situation along the border regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Rwanda has been deteriorating. The Lords Resistance Army (LRA) stepped up attacks on villages in the DRC, and, since December 2008, rapes, maiming and more than 400 deaths of villagers have been attributed to the rebel group.

Ugandan, Rwandan and Congolese troops have joined in military actions against the guerillas, and the UN peacekeeping force is attempting to coordinate with them.

More than 130,000 people have been displaced in the regional violence. Wars since 1998 have killed over five million Congolese. All travel in the region is strongly discouraged. 

In a surprise move, Rwanda captured a notorious warlord, Laurent Nkunda, when he fled over the Rwanda border in January to escape a joint military effort between Rwanda and DRC troops. Rwanda had been under pressure from the international community to stop supporting the warlord. The arrest has sparked hope that some of the violence in the region will subside.