The Hill Op-ed: Staying the Course to End the LRA | Enough

Posted by Ashley Benner on Mar 12, 2013

Editor's Note: This op-ed originally appeared on The Hill's Congress blog.

Analysts conjectured years ago that a commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army named Caesar Acellam wanted to defect – and that he might be key to dismantling the group.

Last May, he came out of the bush. Within a few months, the U.S. military advisors who were deployed in late 2011 to help end the LRA conflict in Central and East Africa innovated a new technique for securing defections: using speakers mounted on helicopters to broadcast ‘come home’ messages. Acellam was one of the first people to fly over the Central African Republic to do a ‘live’ broadcast.

This innovation has proven to be highly effective. Many LRA who have since escaped mentioned hearing these messages..........

FULL ARTICLE: The Hill Op-ed: Staying the Course to End the LRA | Enough