COIN case: LRA Lords Resistance Army

[davidbfpo]

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:

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

[SWJ Blog]

Lord’s Resistance Army: The U.S. Military’s Unorthodox Mission Against Kony

Moderator adds: the link is to the WSJ and cannot - here - be viewed without $ or registration.

[davidbfpo]

From the NYT:

The Pentagon is poised to significantly scale back a decade-long mission to capture or kill Joseph Kony, one of Africa’s most notorious warlords, in a sign that the United States and its African allies no longer see him as a regional threat.

Link:https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/22/w...o-africa.html?

Trump's transition team asked questions why, so the renewal in April 2017 may be different.

[davidbfpo]

One episode in this long running campaign, truly a 'Small War', has come to an end:

Uganda and the US have ended a six-year hunt for the fugitive warlord Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army.
Uganda began withdrawing its troops from their base in eastern CAR last week. The departure of 100 US special forces, who worked alongside the Ugandan soldiers, began this week.

There is more detail in the article, including two LRA leaders have defected and the group now may have 120 fighters - hiding in a forest area which both Sudan and South Sudan claim.
Link:https://www.theguardian.com/global-d...ce-army-return

[davidbfpo]

This man appeared in Post 245, in January 2016 and I spotted this update in a photo collection:

The international criminal court trial of former child soldier turned warlord Dominic Ongwen in Lukodi, Uganda, started on 6 December 2016, and was broadcast live. The first former child soldier to be tried at the ICC, Ongwen, 41, denied 70 war crimes and charges of crimes against humanity

Link:https://www.theguardian.com/global-d...ny-in-pictures

His ICC trial resume today. From:https://www.icc-cpi.int/uganda/ongwen

[davidbfpo]

An update and unusually the focus is on the local people in part of CAR and the likely impact of a Ugandan Army exit:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-39999324