A coalition of about 40 human rights groups want the U.S. to step up efforts to fight against the Lords Resistance Army rebel fighters who have intensified their attacks in central Africa.
A statement issued on Monday says that the US should appoint a special envoy for the Great lakes region to support stronger United Nations peacekeeping and to intensify efforts to arrest" LRA leaders being sought by the International Criminal Court.
The human rights groups include the New York-based Human Rights Watch, which say the governments of Congo, the Central African Republic, and Southern Sudan — countries where the LRA is currently active — have not shown sufficient capability or resolve to protect civilians adequately from LRA abuses.
In May 2010, President Barack Obama's administration signed into law an act that commits the U.S. to help civilians threatened by the LRA.
Abbe Benoit Kinalegu of the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission in Dungu, is however disappointed that one year later, President Obama's commitment to addressing the LRA threat has not stalled the suffering of the people.
According to the Human Rights watch, the LRA has killed nearly 2,400 civilians and abducted about 3,400 others. The rights group says LRA attacks continue in northern Congo, eastern Central African Republic and in Southern Sudan.
Human Rights Watch said more than 38,000 Congolese civilians were displaced in 2011 because of LRA attacks, adding to the hundreds of thousands that have been displaced over several years.
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