Kony in Darfur?

This week, our colleagues at Enough Project shared the troubling information that elements of the LRA have moved into southern Darfur, the troubled western region of Sudan where militias backed by the Sudanese government have been accused of committing genocide. Enough Project researchers received this information from multiple, credible sources.

Then, yesterday, President Museveni of Uganda stated that Kony himself was likely among the LRA fighters in Darfur.

AFP quotes Museveni as saying, "About one month ago Kony himself disappeared. Our military said that the small group in which Kony was had disappeared into Darfur. That is what they told me."

Given that there have been confirmed LRA attacks very near Darfur in recent months, the move into Darfur itself is not entirely surprising. What is of greatest concern is that it increases the chances that the LRA is once again receiving direct support from the Sudanese government in Khartoum. If true, LRA attacks could become much deadlier and more destabilizing for the region if international efforts to stop them are not strengthened immediately.

"The possibility of rekindled collaboration between LRA leader Joseph Kony and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir—both wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court, or ICC—should alarm policymakers and demands urgent international investigation and response," Enough Project wrote in a statement.