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LRA Crisis Tracker Quarter 1 2014 Security Brief January–March 2014

Countries
CAR
+ 2 more
Sources
Invisible Children
+ 1 more
Publication date

Executive Summary: Seasonal spike in LRA attacks, more defections in CAR

The LRA abducted 133 civilians in 61 attacks between January and March 2014 (Quarter 1 2014), continuing a historical pattern in which the group increases attacks during the dry season. In the Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo), LRA forces targeted civilians near the towns of Niangara and Bangadi, largely undeterred by the presence of Congolese soldiers and UN peacekeeping (MONUSCO) bases there. However, LRA forces committed only two attacks near Garamba National Park, a level of security not seen in that area since mid-2008.

In the Central African Republic (CAR), LRA forces targeted civilians near Ugandan and US military bases in Haut Mbomou prefecture. Further north, in the CAR's Haut Kotto prefecture, LRA forces also reportedly committed several large raids in an area where LRA leader Joseph Kony frequently operates. Long-term LRA members continued to escape in eastern CAR, with five Ugandan fighters and 13 women and children escaping there in Quarter 1 2014.