Letter

Thanks for this news (Pambazuka News 130: Northern Uganda's Brutal War). Do however note the following: The response of the Teso political leadership when the LRA attacked this northeastern area was of actively mobilising the population to oppose these rebels, hence the formation of the Arrow militia. They also publicly denounced this incursion. Such a response has never occurred, to date, in Acholiland, leading many to believe that the LRA has a given level of support in the later area. Secondly, though a tenacious and vicious group, the LRA seems to have over extended itself when it attacked Teso, about 400 kilometres from the Sudanese border, where they get their supplies and are moreover amidst a hostile population. And the rebels causality rate, including some of their top commanders, has been high. A main motive to invade Teso was to replenish their food stocks, medicines and recruits through abductions.