SUMMARY

In 2006 some parts of the LRA had settled down in the dense forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo. For some years they lived there relatively peacefully, but the group, well known for their many brutal attacks of civilians, spread fear in their new areas of settlement. As the Ugandan peace process with LRA came to a halt in April 2008, when LRA leader Joseph Kony repeatedly failed to sign the final peace agreement, attacks began to increase in southern Sudan. The attacks on civilians escalated further when they spread to the northeastern part of DR Congo in September. The attacks started off in the Dungu area of north-eastern DR Congo, but as the people fled further north-west towards Bangadi the attacks also spread. In mid-September the villagers of Bangadi formed a self-defense militia in order to able them to protect the population against LRA. On 19 October the LRA looted the village and in response the Bangadi militia ambushed them. The LRA continued to attack the village and the villagers continued to defend their village and pursue the LRA rebels into the forest in order to rescue abducted civilians well into 2009.

The non-state conflict between the Bangadi militia and the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) is first included in UCDP data in 2008. On 19-20 October 2008 the Bangadi militia managed to fight off the LRA as they were on a killing spree in the village situated in the Dungu territory of DR Congo. The fight resulted in over 25 battle-related deaths.