SUMMARY

The non-state conflict between SPLM/A (Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement/Army) and LRA (Lords Resistence Army) was, for a large part, a war-by-proxy between the governments of Uganda and Sudan. As such, due to the tense nature of inter-state relations, SPLM/A was armed, trained, and allowed to establish bases in Ugandan territory, while LRA, as the main enemy of Uganda's government, was offered sanctuary in Sudanese government-controlled garrisons, training, weapons, ammunition and medical care. Moreover, as an added advantage to the Government of Sudan, LRA was used as a tool used for fighting and containing SPLM/A, the governments main enemy.

TheLRA was first spotted in Sudan in 1994, in areas close to the border between Sudan and Uganda, mainly as small groups retreating from a Ugandan offensive. LRA set bases inside Sudan as the Sudanese Government offered various forms of support to LRA. In the years that followed, the presence ofLRA in Sudan intensified, and so have clashes with SPLM/A.

Fighting between LRA and SPLM/A took place between relatively small, autonomous LRA groups supported by the Sudanese governments and SPLM/A units. As SPLM/A was far better organized within Sudan as opposed to LRA, most clashes took the form of cross-border LRA raids on SPLM/A units or attacks from within small bases within South Sudan. These raids typically consisted of 50-100 LRA members and usually took place at dawn or during the night.

The non-state conflict between SPLM/A and LRA is first included in UCDP data in 1995. In the middle of October of that year clashes between the two groups resulted in over 25 battle-related deaths.