In Brief: Pay attention to washed-up rebels

Photo: Voxcom/IRIN

Ugandan rebel Lord’s Resistance Army members (file photo)

NAIROBI, 9 October 2009 (IRIN) - The Allied Democratic Forces/National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (ADF/NALU) may be a has-been rebel group that was only ever a minor player in the Great Lakes miasma, but close examination of precisely why it threw in the towel could help efforts to end the wider, multi-faceted conflict there.

According to Jamila El Abdellaoui, Senior Researcher, Conflict Prevention Programme, even groups whose threat seems negligible when compared with that of the Lord’s Resistance Army or the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda “collectively contribute to continued instability and proliferation of arms”.

The ADF/NALU, which only has an estimated 1,300 fighters, began preliminary peace talks in DRC in August 2009, and demobilization plans are being drawn up.

“In recognition of the myriad issues causing, triggering and sustaining these movements, it would be important to analyze the circumstances that led ADF/NALU to seek a peaceful way to formally end its armed opposition. Lessons learned from this process may prove valuable for dealing with the other smaller movements in the region, which will contribute to a comprehensive approach towards bringing stability to the Great Lakes Region,” El Abdellaoui wrote in an article, Cleaning out the Closet: Armed groups in the Great Lakes Region.

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