Lord's Resistance Army insurgency

Lord's Resistance Army insurgency
	Part of Cold war (until 1991) and the Congolese Civil Wars
	; Patrol of the Guatemalan contingent of MONUSCO against the LRA activities in Haut-Uele, DR Congo, during "Operation Red Kite", July 2017
Date	1987 – present; (39 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; Multiple generals killed in a raid by Russian PMCs in Sudan;
Belligerents
Uganda; Zaire (until 1997); DR Congo (from 1997); Central African Republic (from 2008); South Sudan; Arrow Boys; UFDR; MONUC; Russia (since April 2024) Wagner Group; ; 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; Former: Samson Kisekka ; George Cosmas Adyebo ; Kintu Musoke ; Apolo Nsibambi ; Amama Mbabazi ; Ruhakana Rugunda ; Mobutu Sese Seko ; Mabi Mulumba ; Jules Fontaine Sambwa ; Léon Kengo wa Dondo ; Lunda Bululu ; Mulumba Lukoji ; Étienne Tshisekedi ; Bernardin Mungul Diaka ; Jean Nguza Karl-i-Bond ; Faustin Birindwa ; Likulia Bolongo ; Antoine Gizenga ; Adolphe Muzito ; Louis Alphonse Koyagialo ; Matata Ponyo Mapon ; Samy Badibanga ; Bruno Tshibala ; Sylvestre Ilunga ; François Bozizé ; Michel Djotodia ; Alexandre-Ferdinand Nguendet ; Catherine Samba-Panza ; Nicolas Tiangaye ; André Nzapayeké ; Mahamat Kamoun ; Simplice Sarandji ; Firmin Ngrébada ; Henri-Marie Dondra ; Joseph Zoundeiko ; Leila Zerrougui ; Maman Sambo Sidikou ; Martin Kobler ; Roger A. Meece ; Alan Doss ; William L. Swing ; Amos Namanga Ngongi ; Kamel Morjane ;	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 estimated 100,000 civilians.