Photography: UNHCR: Seeking Shelter
The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has been fighting in northern Uganda since 1986, after Yoweri Museveni came to power, in a civil war that has claimed an estimated 100,000 lives and caused over 1.6 million refugees to flee. The UN's former head of humanitarian affairs, Jan Egeland, described the guerrilla war in northern Uganda as the "biggest neglected humanitarian emergency in the world."
Following the beginning of the region's first joint military operation "Operation Lightning Thunder" on December 14, 2008, the LRA increased attacks on civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Central African Republic.
Over 20,000 Congolese fled into South Sudan seeking refuge between 2008-2010, where UNHCR was working with a number of humanitarian organisations in the relief effort. In September 2009, the LRA attacked Ezo, killing two and injuring scores. All UN and NGO personnel were evacuated, leaving over 5,000 refugees without access food, water or healthcare for weeks. Repeated attacks on neighboring villages continue to put refugees and local communities at great risk. Today, thousands of people are still hiding in the bush along the border of South Sudan and DRC, terrified to make the journey to refugee settlements in Makpandu, Lasu and Ezo.