Four African states with UN and African Union (AU) backing join to go after the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) its leader, Joseph Kony. “The idea is to put in place a strategy, which has been discussed here today… then tomorrow we are going to Juba in the Republic of South Sudan to launch the joint operations tasks force composed [of] Ugandan forces, Central African Republic forces, South Sudan and DRC [Democratic Republic of the Congo],” the AU Special Envoy for the LRA issue, Francisco Madeira, told reporters in New York.
“StopKony” Has Added to Imperative & Urgency to Confront LRA:
According to the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Office for Central Africa (UNOCA), Abou Moussa the meeting was convened to “draw up what I call a regional strategy paper as has been called for by the Security Council in November 2011. We have been able to meet with the Government of Uganda and update them on developments on where we stand so far in our initiative to… address the threat of Kony and his team.” Asked about a popular video about Mr. Kony and the LRA, posted recently on YouTube by a United States film-maker and promoted on social media, Mr. Moussa pointed out that although controversial, the video had brought “unprecedented attention” and raised awareness about the LRA’s activities.“The central theme of this video remains valid – first, Kony continues to kill and maim innocent civilians; second, Kony and his people should be put under arrest,” said Mr. Moussa. See Our Blog for Video Report on Kony2012 Initiative– “Film Wanted Poster for Terrorist” -http://diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/blog_post/film-wanted-poster-for-terrorist/46986
Resurgent LRA:
Although current estimates suggest that the LRA comprises less than 500 combatants operating under Mr. Kony’s leadership, its capacity to attack and terrorise and harm local communities remains, according to the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations. After a lull in LRA raids in the second half of last year that resulted in improved security in the DRC’s north-east, new attacks on civilians have been reported during the past few weeks in the DRC’s territories of Dungu, Faradje, Watsa, Niangara, Bondo and Ango. Video for Blogs – “Lords Resistance Army Resurgent” & More Links to LRA Related Stories - http://diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/blog_post/lords-resistance-army-resurgent/46923
By Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey – Follow @MuhamedSacirbey
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