Call for renewed momentum in fight against LRA terror

AT THE request of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni the Commission of the AU convened a Summit on the Regional Co-operation Initiative for the Elimination of the Lord’s Resistance Army (RCI-LRA) on Sunday.

The meeting took place on the margins of the 28th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the AU in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The meeting was chaired by Museveni and attended by heads of state and high-ranking officials, from South Sudan, the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Sudan, the US, EU, UN and the AU.

The meeting noted, in particular, the progress made by the RCI-LRA in combating and degrading the capabilities of the LRA terrorist group.

It called for renewed momentum in the fight against the LRA to ensure its elimination and stressed the urgency of providing an immediate and adequate response for the humanitarian crisis triggered by the violent activities of the LRA.

The meeting mandated the AU Commission to urgently convene a planning meeting to develop a comprehensive road map for the full accomplishment of the RCI-LRA mandate.

The LRA, also known as the Lord’s Resistance Movement, is a rebel group and heterodox-Christian cult which operates in northern Uganda, South Sudan, the CAR and the DRC.

Originally known as the United Holy Salvation Army and Uganda Christian Army/Movement, its stated goals include establishment of multi-party democracy and ruling Uganda according to the Ten Commandments. – ANA