LRA back with a revenge, the coalition is KO
I've been reading this report and a few things AMAZE me:
First, it took 12 weeks for MONUC to send an enquiry team. They say it was because of the remoteness of the killings grounds but it seems like a STUPId excuse: The FARDC and UPDF had troops there 2 days after the massacre (and they went on foot, MONUC has helicopters), refugees from this area have been flooding the city of Niangara (2 days of walk from the killing grounds)...so MONUC can't do with helicopters or on foot what FARDC, UPDF or civilians can do ?????
Second, MONUC knew end Dec 09, UPDF, FARDC a few days before,....and they kept on saying the LRA was "neutralized", with Rudia II being a "mop up" operation. These were overoptimistic statements despite knowing the truth ? a Lie thus ?????
Finally, the LRA now has some 200 new recruits via this operation and has proven to be able to do a lot of damage in a very short time. The months before, they were walking around in the same area without being hindered by any UPDF-FARDC actions (despite UPDF or FARDC forces never more than 50 Km from them).
My conclusion, everybody kept on saying the LRA was neutralized in DRC but knew it was false. Rudia II failed completely and MONUC, FARDC, UPDF (AFRICOM?) refused to admit it publicly.
Knowing the LRA, their next attack would be even more violent to make sure no "cover up" is possiblle.
Uganda uses ex-LRA to hunt LRA
Quote:
Originally Posted by
carl
Carl,
I was struck by the reported use of ex-LRA members to hunt their former comrades:
Quote:
In an unorthodox strategy that could help end this seemingly pointless war, the Ugandan Army is deploying special squads of experienced killers to track down the L.R.A.’s leader...These soldiers...are former L.R.A. fighters themselves, and just about all of them were abducted as children. They recently surrendered... the decision was the Ugandans’ and that in this case, as one American officer put it, “these guys may be some of the best they got.”
The battlefield statistics seem to bear this out. In the past 18 months, American officials say, the Ugandan Army has killed or captured more than half of Mr. Kony’s men, including his finance and communications officers, as well as several other high-ranking commanders.
I don't recall seeing this before; whilst it is a standard COIN tactic having read many of the Rhodesian threads of late perhaps I was more alert when reading this.
Plus the NYT video links failed for me.
Regional alliance - reason to be hopeful?
Quote:
A number of central African countries overwhelmed by the brutal attacks and mounting regional destabilization caused by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) have established a comprehensive plan to combat the rebel group. Ministers from Uganda, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Central African Republic agreed Friday in a meeting in Bangui, the capital of the latter, to create a joint military task force, centre of operations, and border patrol capacity, all to be supervised by a representative from the African Union.
Leaving aside practicalities and the diplomatic achievement, who is paying for this?
Just maybe the clue is in the closing sentences:
Quote:
In an interesting development, a recent piece of legislation passed by the US Senate and currently before the US House of Representatives requires the White House to ‘develop a regional strategy to protect civilians in central Africa from attacks by the LRA, work to apprehend the LRA leadership, and support economic recovery for northern Uganda’. It was passed unanimously, though it remains to be seen what effect any such policy will have on the conflict if enacted into law.
Link:http://www.opendemocracy.net/opensec...80%99s-resista
former LRA Children used to fight LRA?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
M-A Lagrange
Also there are good reports on former abducted children trained by LRA integrated into LRA hunt.
Are you saying that former LRA child soldiers are being used to fight the LRA?
Working for whom? Museveni?
The LRA: an African Terrorist Group?
An academic commentary from Perspectives on Terrorism:http://www.terrorismanalysts.com/pt/...=145&Itemid=54
The introduction summary ends with:
Quote:
It is concluded that the LRA is too ambiguous an organisation to be simply labelled in such a way. It is also suggested that the terrorism label has in fact been an obstacle to attempts to end successfully a confrontation that is now going into its 24th year.
Worth reading just to get this:
Quote:
Gettleman ties this lack of ideology to the intractability of many of the current conflicts in Africa. Indeed, he uses the LRA as 'probably the most disturbing example’ of these new kinds of conflict, asking:
Even if you could coax them out of their jungle lairs and get them to a negotiating table, there is very little to offer them. They don’t want ministries or tracts of land to govern. Their armies are often traumatized children, with experience and skills (if you can call them that) totally unsuited for civilian life. All they want is cash, guns, and a license to rampage. And they’ve already got all three. How do you negotiate with that?
Citing:J. Gettleman. (2010) ‘Africa’s Forever Wars: Why the continent’s conflict never seem to end,’ Foreign Policy, March/April 2010.
The author concludes:
Quote:
The case of the LRA should serve as a warning of both the difficulties of establishing whether a group in a conflict zone is truly a terrorist organisation and of the harm that such a label may cause when it comes to conflict resolution.
New technology undermined
MA-L,
Nice idea, but flawed. It is akin to a neighbourhood watch, LRA spotted, messages go out an who responds. In crime reduction "speak" who are the capable guardians? In theory it should be the state, but I expect they have little presence in such villages, nor the means for a rapid 'Fire Force' response.
I dread to think what will happen when say the original spotting village is raided by the LRA, the radio destroyed and the LRA leave. Will other radio users still use the radio?
Now if an air-mobile infantry company was added, that responded to sightings and stayed in villages at random - then I would be happier.