Rebel LRA attacks in south Sudan 'on the increase'

According to the Deputy governor of Western Equatoria rarely a week goes by without reports of the LRA attacking a village in South Sudan. According to BBC, the LRA has moved its area of focus and attack from Uganda to Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Lexson Wari Amozai, head of Southern Sudan's government humanitarian agency for Western Equatoria, says it is no coincidence that the LRA is attacking at this time of the year. The LRA he says, will not attack during cultivation and planting of the fields in the spring. Since many citizens are now starting to harvest the food they have grown, attacks have increased. The LRA is taking food to feed itself. These attacks will only add to the estimated 25,000 people displaced in South Sudan. According to BBC's Peter Martell in Nzara, hundreds of displaced people have arrived in the town seeking food and medical help. The local vigilante force, the Arrow Boys, had recently been unable to fight off the recent attacks. The LRA might not only be after food in Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo according to allegations by Human Rights Watch. According to the agency, the LRA is going on a massive recruitment campaign in these countries. With this in mind, the LRA has become an international threat, not just a threat to Uganda, as the LRA turns on its former supporters in Sudan, and invades other countries in search of resources. Hopefully this promises more international attention to suppressing Kony's army.

By Margaret Nunne