Table of Contents
Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA)
The attacks took place at night, fast and brutal – villagers had no time to hide or defend themselves.
Entire communities fled into the forests or to other regions, fields were left untilled, and the social fabric collapsed.
From the mid-1990s, the LRA penetrated mainly into the west of South Sudan, in the region of Western Equatoria. Places like Yambio, Maridi and Tambura were repeatedly targeted.
This hard-to-reach area was strategically valuable for the LRA: dense forest for cover, little military presence, and many scattered villages.
Their typical tactic was to operate in small, highly mobile groups that raided villages, usually at night or early in the morning to secure surprise. Men were often killed immediately to break resistance. Women and girls were abducted to the camps, where they were abused as “wives” or forced laborers. Children were kidnapped in large numbers and indoctrinated with extreme violence – boys were forced to watch raids or even kill their own families, making return to their communities impossible. The LRA lived off looting: food, clothes, and tools were systematically stolen. Their violence had not only a military but also a psychological function – entire villages fled, fields lay fallow, and whole regions sank into a climate of permanent insecurity.
The LRA was founded in the late 1980s and is still active in parts of Central Africa today.
It emerged from smaller rebel groups that initially opposed the Ugandan government under President Yoweri Museveni.
Led by Joseph Kony, who sees himself as a religious-military leader, the LRA carried out brutal raids on villages, abducted children as soldiers or “wives,” and killed men to spread fear.
The Sudanese government temporarily supported the LRA to weaken SPLA rebels in the South.
The Ugandan army did carry out operations but could hardly protect the scattered villages.
International organizations such as the UN were present but were not allowed to intervene militarily and could only provide humanitarian aid.
Arrow Boys
Villagers were defenseless against the attacks and could not rely on outside help. That is why brave young men took over the protection of their families. They fought mainly with bows and arrows, like their ancestors. That is why they called themselves “Arrow Boys.”
The Arrow Boys were not a regular army but arose from the instinctive need of villagers to protect themselves and their families. Youth were the driving force, as young men were the ones most willing to patrol at night and watch for LRA tracks in the forest. Their weapons – bows and arrows, spears, sometimes old rifles – were primitive compared to the LRA’s Kalashnikovs, but they knew the terrain and had the support of their communities. Belief in protective amulets and traditional medicine gave them extra courage to face the superior enemy.
The Arrow Boys were especially active in southern Sudan, carrying out targeted night patrols and ambushes in LRA areas.
The Arrow Boys were particularly active in southern Sudan and carried out targeted night patrols and ambushes in LRA areas.
This video shows the Arrow Boys in training.
The Arrow Boys went far beyond symbolic resistance. They demonstrate how traditional knowledge and solidarity can partly compensate for democratic shortcomings.
Azande
Already in the Azande kingdom, which from the 17th to the 19th century covered large parts of today’s South Sudan, DR Congo, and Central African Republic, there were defense groups with bows and arrows. These fighters were seen as protectors of their communities and symbols of strength and identity.
The name “Arrow Boys” refers not only to their weapons but also to an ancient memory of the Azande in western South Sudan. Centuries ago, in the Azande kingdom, there were community militias that defended their villages against enemies and slave raiders with bows and arrows. This tradition remained alive in people’s memory.
When in the 2000s the LRA came into South Sudan and the state army could not protect the people, young men revived this tradition and called themselves “Arrow Boys.” In doing so, they deliberately placed themselves in the line of the old Azande defenders.
To this day, the Azande play an important political and cultural role in South Sudan. They are one of the largest ethnic groups in the west of the country, have a strong identity, and often see themselves as guardians of their region. Many churches and traditional leaders supported the Arrow Boys because they saw them not only as a militia but as part of their own culture and history. This gave the groups great legitimacy among the population – but their later involvement in political and military conflicts after 2011 also led to tensions with the central government in Juba.
After 2011, as the LRA weakened, the Arrow Boys gained political and cultural importance. They became a symbol of Azande self-assertion. Many see them as the “guardians of their community” – in direct tradition of the old Azande warriors.
Quiz
Speaker
Hello, I am Sonja.
As a co-founder of the association Global New Generation Berlin, I have been committed for many years to the recognition of all people in our society.
What is especially close to my heart are the children, since my (grand-)children also live in Germany.
I design transcultural projects and implement them in diverse teams.
I consider discrimination-sensitive education to be very important. For this reason, I offer anti-discrimination and diversity trainings for educational institutions.
As an artist, I like to use art as a tool to support young people in their development and in finding their identity.
Support
This learning module was created with the kind support of the Stiftung Bildungschancen (Foundation for Educational Opportunities).
Sources
https://www.dni.gov/nctc/groups/lra.html
https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000022287868/arrow-boys-ein-haufen-bauern-gegen-joseph-konys-lra
Von Winkpolve – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28973782
Meet Azande people “the conquering warriors”
<a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/crossed-arrows-vector-illustration-medieval-weapon-war-battle-accessory_11235613.htm”>Image by pch.vector on Freepik</a>