Congo bishop urges Obama: Stop the Lord’s Resistance Army

May 24, 2010

A bishop in the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has joined human rights groups in calling upon President Barack Obama to intervene to halt attacks by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a Ugandan guerilla group known for its brutality towards civilians, especially women, and its forced recruitment of child soldiers.

“The LRA attacks are continuous and have led to a serious situation of insecurity in the villages near Niangara,” says Bishop Julien Andavo Mbia of Isiro-Niangara. “The violence committed by the guerrillas is unspeakable. Unfortunately, so far the response from the Congolese army and UN peacekeepers of the UN Mission in Congo (MONUC) has been inadequate in facing up to this scale of violence.”

“The violence of the LRA is a regional problem that must be solved with the help of the international community,” Bishop Mbia added. “Do not leave us on our own in facing this tragedy.”

 

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Further information:

• Bishop of Isiro-Niangara tells Fides: I join in the appeal made by the people of Niangara to President Obama, asking that he help stop the LRA guerrillas (Fides)
• Congolese rights groups urge Obama to help tackle rebels (AFP)
• Lord’s Resistance Army (Wikipedia)