LRA attacks on the rise in central Africa
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Melissa Fleming – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
UNHCR has received reports of more violence by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in central Africa in recent weeks.
Since our last update on 6 March, there have been 13 new LRA attacks in north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Most occurred in Dungu territory between 6 and 25 March. Two people were killed and 13 abducted, including a child in the town of Aba. The violence has also displaced more than 1,230 people in the Dungu area.
This brings to 33 the total number of LRA attacks in north-eastern DRC so far this year, with more than 4,000 displaced. There have also been reports of attacks by the Ugandan rebel group in Bondo, close to the border with the Central African Republic (CAR).
In CAR itself, attacks attributed to the LRA resumed in January after a lull since April 2011. Eleven LRA attacks have been recorded in the south-eastern part of the country this year. Eight of those took place near the towns of Zemio and Mboki, where UNHCR assists refugees and internally displaced populations.
Four people were killed during the attacks and 31 abducted, according to the CAR defence and security forces.
The security situation in south-eastern CAR remains extremely fragile. One exception is in the city of Obo, where the situation has improved with the presence of U.S. troops deployed last October to bolster efforts by the joint CAR-Ugandan armed forces hunting the LRA and its leadership.
Our staff on the ground say that patrols around Obo by the two national armies supported by the U.S. military advisers have enabled local authorities to ensure security within a 25-km radius from Obo, compared to 5 km before the patrols were instituted. The extended security perimeter is allowing residents to tend their farms.
The LRA also conducts hit-and-run attacks in South Sudan. According to the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in 2011 such attacks killed 18 people, wounded nine, and resulted in 49 abductions and 7,382 people being internally displaced.
No known LRA attacks have occurred in South Sudan this year, however UNHCR regularly receives new groups of refugees fleeing LRA attacks in the DRC and CAR. South Sudan's Western and Central Equatoria states together now host more than 22,000 refugees from these two neighbouring countries, including more than 700 new arrivals this year.
South Sudan is preparing to host African Union forces to coordinate a regional effort to eliminate LRA threats.
UNHCR welcomes the unprecedented regional and international initiatives aimed at ending the LRA atrocities in CAR, DRC and South Sudan and urges all actors to respect human rights and minimize risk to civilian populations.
Indiscriminate LRA assaults on civilians in these three countries have left an estimated 440,000 people internally displaced or living as refugees. Some 335,000 of them are found in DRC alone.
UNHCR works with the local authorities, other UN agencies, as well as non-governmental organizations to assist people who escape or are rescued from the LRA. Some survivors told UNHCR staff that during their captivity, they were tortured before being used as porters. Some also witnessed the killing of their relatives.
WATCH: UNHCR YouTube video: "Surviving the LRA"
For further information on this topic, please contact:
- In Dungu (on mission): Celine Schmitt on mobile +243 81 700 9484
- In Juba (on mission): Vivian Tan on mobile +211 928 066 868
- In Kinshasa: Celine Schmitt on mobile +243 81 700 9484
- In Geneva: Leo Dobbs on mobile +41 79 883 6347
- and Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba on mobile +41 79 249 3483
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Your search for « LRA » matched 252 results. Displaying page 7 of 28 pages.
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Congolese refugees fleeing to South Sudan
27 Jan 2009 ... They said they fled their homes following a LRA attack last week. The number of refugees in Lasu is ... 2,000 Congolese refugees arrived there some weeks ago following LRA attacks north-west of Dungu. ...... -
High Commissioner Guterres visits northern Uganda
21 Jun 2005 ... by the Ugandan rebels known as the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Guterres will also visit some of the 1.5 million Ugandans who have been displaced within their own country because of LRA attacks. ...... -
UNHCR Global Appeal 2009 (update) - Uganda
1 Dec 2008 ... Following the signing of a ceasefire agreement by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the ... the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) may hamper interventions by UNHCR and other humanitarian actors. ...... -
Survivors of Lord's Resistance Army attacks urgently need assistance
16 Jan 2009 ... the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). First attacked by the LRA in September, Duru was again targeted by the rebel group earlier this week, leaving four people dead and the village a virtual ghost town. ...... -
UNHCR chief presents Nansen Refugee Award to inspiring Congolese nun
30 Sep 2013 ... and the children who have been abducted by the LRA [Lord's Resistance Army rebel group from ... and abused by the LRA or other armed groups in the Dungu region of the DRC's Orientale province. ...... -
UNHCR takes on new role protecting Ugandans displaced by civil war
22 May 2006 ... The Ugandan government strategy to fight the LRA has also forced many people from their villages ... International human rights groups estimate that the LRA - which consists today of perhaps 2,000 ...... -
UNHCR condemns rebel attack on refugee settlement in Uganda
10 Jul 2002 ... district, some 200 rebels from the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) also abducted five refugees. ... and fearful refugees who had managed to escape the fighting between the army and the LRA rebels." ...... -
Congolese nun to receive UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award tonight
30 Sep 2013 ... been forced from their homes and abused by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) or other armed groups. ... follows the release earlier this month of a report about life for those displaced by LRA violence. ...... -
UNHCR visits Congolese towns attacked by Lord's Resistance Army
6 Jan 2009 ... The rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) attacked Faradje, some 100 kilometres west of the border ... According to initial estimates, LRA fighters have killed up to 500 Congolese civilians in various ......