Lord's Resistance Army insurgency

The **Lord's Resistance Army insurgency** is a guerrilla movement. The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency started in 1987. As of 2020, the LRA is somewhat active in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic. Joseph Kony leads the movement. He says he is "spokesperson" of God and a spirit medium. The movement does not want Yoweri Museveni and his government in Uganda. They want to start a theocratic state based on the Ten Commandments and Acholi tradition.

The conflict is one of the longest in Africa. It has started a humanitarian crisis. The International Criminal Court says that the LRA has violated human rights. This includes mutilation, torture, slavery, rape, the abduction (kidnapping) of civilians, the use of child soldiers, and a number of massacres. By 2004, the LRA had abducted more than 20,000 children. 1.5 million civilians had to move. The LRA killed about 100,000 civilians.

## Background

In January 1986, the National Resistance Army (NRA) of south-west Uganda born Yoweri Museveni overthrew President Tito Okello, an ethnic Acholi. This started a period of unrest. When they tried to liberate the whole country, the NRA were responsible of many atrocities on the people of Acholi. This made some Acholis want to fight against these acts. Reports sometimes say that the Acholi were afraid to lose their traditional (usual) control of the national military. They were also very worried that the NRA would want retribution for the violent counterinsurgency, especially the actions of the army in the Luwero triangle. By August 1986, a complete popular insurgency had started in northern regions that the new government soldiers occupied.

## Infobox (military conflict)

- **conflict**: Lord's Resistance Army insurgency
- **date**: 1987–_present_
()
- **place**: Northern Uganda (until 2006), South Sudan, eastern Congo-Kinshasha, Central African Republic
- **status**: List of ongoing armed conflicts, Ongoing
* Founder and leader of the LRA Joseph Kony goes into hiding
* Senior LRA commander Dominic Ongwen surrenders to American forces in the Central African Republic and is tried at the Hague
* Majority of LRA installations and encampments located in South Sudan and Uganda abandoned and dismantled
* Small scale LRA activity continues in eastern DR Congo, and the Central African Republic
- **combatant1**: ****

United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, MONUC

**Supported by:**

(2011–2017)
- **combatant2**:

**Supported by:**

(1994–2002)
- **commander1**: Yoweri Museveni

Joseph Kabila

Salva Kiir

Alan Doss
- **commander2**: Joseph Kony

Vincent Otti

Raska Lukwiya

Okot Odiambo

Dominic Ongwen

Alphonse Lamola
- **strength1**: **2002:**

65,000–75,000

**2010:**

46,800

**2014:**

1,500
---
 300 advisers
- **strength2**: **1990:**

200–800

**1998:**

6,000

**2007:**

500–3,000

**2014:**

240
- **units1**: Uganda People's Defence Force, UPDF

Military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, FARDC

Central African Armed Forces, FACA

Sudan People's Liberation Army, SPLA
---
 United States special operations forces, SOF
- **units2**: No specific units
- **casualties1**: Unknown
- **casualties2**: ~600 killed (2009–2010)
- **casualties3**: 100,000+ killed

400,000–430,000+ Displaced person, displaced