SUMMARY
In the beginning of the 1990’s, the Ugandan government was faced with two rebellions – one in the east and one in the north. In the northern Acholi region, the rebel group LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) had since its inception targeted the very civilian population that it was claiming to fight for. However, during the late 1980s and in 1990 the abuses were on a relatively low scale. This changed in 1991, when the government launched a fierce anti-insurgency operation named Operation North. Included in the operation was the mobilization of the civilian population with the creation of local defence groups. Charged with the responsibility to protect remote villages out of range to UPDA (Ugandan People’s Defence Army), these groups were armed with bows and arrows and were hence given the name “Arrow Groups”. However, the initiative was a failure as the arrow groups were quickly overpowered by the modern weaponry of LRA rebels. Furthermore, the fact that so many northerners had been willing to to join the Arrow Groups angered the rebels, who felt abandoned by the population. As a result, the rebels stepped up their abuses against the civilian population (for more information on LRA attacks on civilians, see the section LRA – civilians in the database).
In 2003, LRA moved their area of operations into eastern and north-western Uganda. Once again the national army was unable to counter the rebel attacks due to a number of shortcomings, such as not speaking the local language and being unfamiliar with the terrain. When the number of rebel attacks increased in the mid-year, local leaders and governmental representatives agreed to mobilize the local population. As a result, two groups were created; the Arrow Boys, responsible for the Teso region, and the Amuka, responsible for the Lango region.
As their predecessors, the Arrow Boys were named after their weaponry and their tactics. Although modern weapons were made available by the government, bows and poisoned arrows remained the main weapon. Used tactics were based on the element of surprise combined with the knowledge needed to always stay one step ahead of their rebel counterparts. Indeed, the existence of a large network of informants and the familiarity with the terrain made it possible to know when LRA rebels had entered the area and to predict by what way they would travel.
Although army officials claimed to be in control of the Arrow Boys, leadership was decentralised and depended on local village chiefs and self-proclaimed leaders. Subsequently, it can be argued that the Arrow Boys was divided into smaller local defence groups grouped under the same name.
The Arrow Boys were supported by a majority of the population. However, there were those who were strongly opposed to their existence due to the fear of retaliation. Furthermore, several members of parliament deemed the recruiting methods unconstitutional, claiming that the government tried to ethicize the conflict against the people LRA claimed to protect; the Acholi. Members included retired policemen, former UPA (Ugandan People’s Army) rebels, ex-army soldiers and sometimes children.
The group was officially demobilized in 2007. However, members are still active and armed with illegal guns.
The Arrow Boys have been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence.
