Lord's Resistance Army insurgency

Lord's Resistance Army insurgency
Part of Cold war (Until 1991)

Fire in Parabongo IDP camp, Uganda
Date1987 – present
(38 years)
Location
Northern Uganda (until 2006), South Sudan, eastern DR Congo, Central African Republic
Status

Ongoing (Low-level)

  • 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
Belligerents

 Uganda
 Zaire (until 1997)
 DR Congo (from 1997)
 Central African Republic (from 2008)
 South Sudan
 Arrow Boys
 UFDR
MONUC
 Russia (since April 2024)

Supported by:
 United States
(2011–2017)

 North Korea(until 1990s)
Lord's Resistance Army
Supported by:
Sudan (1994–2002)
Allied Democratic Forces
Commanders and leaders

Yoweri Museveni
Robinah Nabbanja
Félix Tshisekedi
Sama Lukonde
Faustin-Archange Touadéra
Félix Moloua
Salva Kiir
Bintou Keita

Joseph Kony
Vincent Otti 
Raska Lukwiya 
Okot Odhiambo 
Dominic Ongwen 
Alphonse Lamola
Doctor Achaye 
Units involved

UPDF
FARDC
FACA
SPLA


SOF
No specific units
Strength

2002: 65,000−75,000
2010: 46,800
2014: 1,500


300 advisers
1990: 200−800
1998: 6,000
2007: 840−3,000
2014: 240
2022: 200−1,000
Casualties and losses
Unknown ~600 killed (2009–2010)
100,000+ killed
400,000–430,000+ displaced

The Lord's Resistance Army insurgency is an ongoing conflict between the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a Ugandan militant religious extremist group, against the government of Uganda. Following the Ugandan Civil War, militant Joseph Kony formed the Lord's Resistance Army and launched an insurgency against the newly installed President Yoweri Museveni. The stated goal was to establish a Christian state based on the Ten Commandments. Currently, there is low-level LRA activity in eastern areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic. Kony proclaims himself the 'spokesperson' of God and a spirit medium.

The insurgency has become one of Africa's longest conflicts and has resulted in a lasting humanitarian crisis. The LRA has been accused by the International Criminal Court of widespread human rights violations, including mutilation, torture, slavery, rape, the abduction of civilians, the use of child soldiers, and a number of massacres. By 2004, the LRA had abducted more than 20,000 children, caused the displacement of 1.5 million civilians, and killed an estimation of 100,000 civilians.