UN Sending 900 Congo Peacekeepers to Curb LRA Attacks

The United Nations will redeploy 900 peacekeepers to the Haute-Uele region of northern Democratic Republic of Congo in an effort to curb murders and abductions by the Lord’s Resistance Army, the world body said.

The UN also called on “the countries of the region to enhance coordination and information-sharing regarding the threat posed by the LRA.”

Since 2007, the LRA has killed more than 2,000 civilians in northeastern areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Ugandan group says it represents that country’s Acholi community and is guided by the Bible’s Ten Commandments. Its leader, Joseph Kony, a former altar boy, faces International Criminal Court charges of murder, mutilation, rape and the abduction of thousands of children for use as soldiers.

The UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, known as Monusco, has 19,000 peacekeepers in the region, most of them military, according to its website.

The Ugandan army, which has largely driven the LRA out of its own country, is also fighting against the group in Congo. Sudan and the Central African Republic have also seen attacks by the LRA, which mainly targets isolated communities.

To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Latham in Durban at blatham@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin in Johannesburg at asguazzin@bloomberg.net.