LRA History in Comics

Freelance reporter David Axe and illustrator Tim Hamilton have launched an ambitious project of documenting the history of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in graphic novel style. The first installment is out, and it looks pretty good. I really like this marriage of art and writing when used as an explainer.

U.S. Military Presence Increasing in Africa

The Guardian has an article about the U.S. military providing counter-insurgency training to Nigeria to combat the growing threat of the radical Muslim group, Boko Haram. The excellent Confused Eagle blog, which provides commentary and analysis on USG doings in Africa, has further details.

So let's see now. Last month it was announced 100 U.S. advisors were heading to Uganda to help deal with the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Past U.S. involvement fighting the LRA hasn't been exactly stellar. Three years ago the U.S. Africa Command helped plan Operation Lightning Thunder, a large-scale attack on LRA camps. Due to a lack of coordination between Ugandan ground and air forces, the raids failed, and hundreds of civilians were killed as enraged LRA units went into hiding.

Over in Kenya, the U.S. has been training the Kenyan military for quite some time. Border incursions by al-Shabab are almost certainly prompting covert U.S. special operations missions against the Somali Islamist group. U.S. drones, cruise missiles, and helicopters have already been used against targets in Somalia during the past four years.

Then don't forget about Camp Lemonnier, a large American base in Djibouti. And those new drone bases in Ethiopia and Seychelles that the Washington Post reported in September.

From a humanitarian security perspective, this expansion makes me uneasy. U.S. and Western military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan didn't exactly win hearts and minds, and in the process, many Western NGOs and their staffs were put at greater risk. If your organization is doing work in Africa, you should be paying attention to any early signs of local fall-out from U.S. military actions; and adjusting your security measures accordingly. While acceptance is a powerful strategy, history has shown it can be trumped by perceived guilt through association.

LRA Crisis Tracker Map

Earlier in the month I posted about an interactive map that tracked drug violence incidents in Mexico. I mentioned it would be nice to have similar maps available for other conflict zones where humanitarian organizations work. I got an email from FHI 360 security director Norm Sheehan, that Resolve and Invisible Children are doing just that. They've released an interactive map Web site that provides information on LRA (Lord's Resistance Army) attacks in central Africa.

The map is linked to a database of reported LRA incidents, compiled from UN, NGO, and media sources. Data ranges from 2009 to the present. Whats cool is that the information is nearly real-time, with new reports of LRA activity being updated hourly (the HF radio early warning system in DR Congo is linked into the system).

I'm a "map guy" and really have to give the creators of this tool some serious credit - it's very well designed and implemented.

If your organization is doing work in South Sudan, Central African Republic, or DR Congo this resource is a must. If you're not operating in Africa, you should still check it out. I suspect it's a glimpse of what will be common within the humanitarian community in the very near future.

Harvard Africa Map

I admit it. I'm a map junkie. The more maps I have access to wherever I'm working, the happier I am. If you or your organization is operating in Africa, I highly recommend you check out Harvard's AfricaMap project. This online map incorporates all sorts of layers (including economic, social, and environmental information) with the familiar Google Maps interface. Of particular interest is the ability to display U.S. and Russian topographic maps as background layers. This is a great planning and general information resource. The site is currently in beta (there are a few bugs and it can be slow) but it's very usable. Look for more features and data layers as the project goes forward.

Pentagon plans new command to cover Africa

Boston Globe article on how plans are under way to create a new US military command (AFRICOM) for Africa. Of interest is lots of mention of humanitarian missions as well as direct State Department involvement. If you do work in Africa, you'll want to keep an eye on how this develops.