COIN case: LRA Lords Resistance Army

[M-A Lagrange]

LRA Rebel Pins Sudan On Support

Kampala — THE Sudan government is in touch with the Lord's Resistance Army command and has given the rebels fresh supplies of food and medicines, a captured commander has said.
The LRA political commissar, Okello 'Mission', told journalists in Kampala that he was part of the LRA team that trekked to the Darfur region in Sudan where they met officers of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) on October 4, 2009.
He said their delegation was led by Caesar Acellam and they met with the SAF brigade commander in Darfur, Col. Hamdou, and an un-named lieutenant colonel said to be the regional chief of intelligence.
He said Khartoum solicited for the meeting.
"The subject of the discussion was to resume the partnership with the government of Sudan," Okello Mission said.

Okello Mission, 30, was captured by UPDF soldiers at Ezo in Southern Sudan after a brief shoot-out in the evening of March 31. Okello was in a unit of 10 rebels, led by Felly Otimi, an escort to LRA leader Joseph Kony.
He graduated from Makerere University in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in computer science and joined the LRA as a peace negotiator in 2006. A relative of Kony, he hails from Lalogi in Gulu district and holds a Democratic Party (DP) membership card.
He joined the Juba peace talks at the same time with Santa Okot, Peter Obina, Yusuf Adek and Quinto Kidega. He said he remained with the rebels to explain the draft final peace agreement to Kony.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201004060006.html

An interesting article on the LRA. I really recommend it for all those who follow the question.

[carl]

Here is a link to a New York Times story and video about the Ugandan army's continuing effort to kill the LRA.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/wo...ica/11lra.html

The video has two brief scenes of the air support being given. One scene shows a mighty AN-2 being refueled by chunky anglo guys who I would bet 12 dollars are either Russians or Ukranians, Africa standard. The other scene shows a P68 Observer, not a common aircraft, being started up by its' crew, one of whom was a young anglo guy in what looked like a military flight suit. That guy did not look at all like a Russian.

[davidbfpo]

Here is a link to a New York Times story and video about the Ugandan army's continuing effort to kill the LRA.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/wo...ica/11lra.html

Carl,

I was struck by the reported use of ex-LRA members to hunt their former comrades:

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.

[carl]

David:

Maybe this link will work. It goes directly to the video.

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2010/...html?th&emc=th

I wonder it they have tried or if it would be practicable to use Pygmy trackers in the effort. Those guys are pretty good.

[davidbfpo]

Carl,

Thanks that link worked and yes the pilot footage is intriguing.

[Michael F]

The NEW ICG report on the LRA. A MUST READ

http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/F...ng%20Kony.ashx

[M-A Lagrange]

Uganda Army Seeks More Funding To Flush LRA Rebels Out of Congo, CAR

Publié le 06 Mai 2010 Copyright © 2010 Dowjones - KAMPALA Uganda -(Dow Jones)-

The Ugandan army wants the government to increase its budget allocation to enable it to pursue and flush out remnants of the notorious rebels of Lord's Resistance Army from northeastern Congo and the Central African Republic, Uganda's defense minister said.
Crispus Kiyonga said in a ministerial presentation to Parliament Wednesday that the army requires an additional budget allocation of 25 billion Ugandan shillings ($12.5 million) in the current fiscal year ending in June to boost its logistical supplies and pursue the LRA in the resource-rich areas.
"This funding is required as a matter of urgency; the LRA is still active in Congo and the Central African Republic," he said, adding that the money would be spent to buy soldiers' uniforms, medicine and arms.
The Ugandan army has already been allocated UGX457 billion for the current fiscal year.
The LRA has waged an insurgency, targeting mainly civilians in northern Uganda, northeastern Congo as well as the Central African Republic for over two decades and its leader, Joseph Kony, is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes.
According to analysts, the continued presence of Ugandan rebels in the volatile eastern and northeastern areas of Congo is a threat to security in Uganda's oil-rich Lake Albert basin, where commercial oil production is slated to start later next year.
Mediators are also trying to convince the remnants of the Allied Democratic Forces, which has bases in eastern Congo, to sign a peace accord with government ahead of planned oil production. In 2007, the ADF invaded the oil region but was swiftly repulsed by the Ugandan army.

http://www.easybourse.com/bourse/act...congo-car.html