Karamoja: Is Peace Possible?

After more than two decades of turmoil and retarded development it seems as if Uganda is once more heading towards a brighter future. Nevertheless, some people and regions are, so far, still excluded from these positive trends. Poverty and armed conflicts are very much a part of every day life for many Ugandans. In western Uganda, for example, the ADF (Allied Democratic Forces) carry out atrocities against the civilian population adjoining the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). For many years, the most seriously affected region of Uganda has been the north. At present, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) is attacking civilians seemingly at random with new force, at a time when the national army, through Operation Iron Fist, has eliminated most of the guerrilla bases in southern Sudan and claims to have gained the upper hand on Ugandan soil as well. Civilians were recently asked to leave their homes and move closer to occupied army barracks, or risk being massacred by the increasingly desperate rebels.