AU to launch task force against Lord’s Resistance Army

New York, 25 Mar – (ANA) - Four African countries namely Uganda, Central African Republic, South Sudan and DR Congo, affected by the activities of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) are launching a joint military task force backed by the UN and AU to pursue the rebel fighters, including the group’s leader, Joseph Kony, it has been reported. “The idea is to put in place a strategy, which has been discussed………” the AU Special Envoy for the LRA issue, Francisco Madeira, told reporters in New York. The LRA was formed in the 1980s in Uganda and for over 15 years its attacks were mainly directed against Ugandan civilians and security

forces, which in 2002 dislodged the rebels. They then exported their activities to Uganda’s neighbouring countries, with practices that include the recruitment of children, rapes, killing and maiming, and sexual slavery. (ANA)

FA/ANA/25 March 2012-------