WASHINGTON–(ENEWSPF)–May 24, 2012. U.S. military advisors sent to East and Central Africa to help end the Lord’s Resistance Army conflict have had some success, but need more support in order for the mission to accomplish its goals of helping to apprehend LRA leader Joseph Kony and his top deputies and disband the group, according to a new Enough Project report.
The report, “Mission in the Balance: Challenges for U.S. Advisers in Helping to End the LRA,” said that more capable forces are needed in LRA affected areas, better transport including helicopters is required, and enhanced intelligence gathering is necessary to defeat the brutal rebel movement. The report is based on field research conducted in the Central African Republic in March-April 2012 and includes an informative video.
“The mission of the U.S. troops will fail in its objective of capturing Kony and ending the LRA unless some serious enhancements are added to the overall effort,” said John Prendergast, Enough Project co-founder. “Gaining access to the areas where Kony might be, increasing the number of African special forces focusing on Kony’s capture, adding new African forces to protect civilians, and providing transport helicopters are all necessary prerequisites for success. What a waste of taxpayers’ money it will have been to send U.S. forces to the region and then not have ensured that sufficient elements are in place for their mission to succeed.”
Started in Uganda more than 25 years ago, the LRA, led by wanted war criminal Joseph Kony, preys on villages in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic. Recent reports suggest the LRA may be in or near the Darfur region of Sudan, and could migrate to Chad. Last week, Uganda captured senior LRA commander Caesar Achellam in CAR.
