For two decades, a brutal Civil War has threatened the East African country of Uganda. The government has been fighting a rebel group called the Lord's Resistance Army—or LRA—led by Joseph Kony, an elusive man who reportedly believes that he is God.
On assignment, Oprah Show correspondent Lisa Ling learned about the horrors of the LRA, which many call one of the worst rebel movements on the planet. "The majority of the combatants in this rebel army are abducted children," Lisa says. "Most of them were kidnapped from their families." These abducted child soldiers often are forced to engage in rape, murder, kidnappings, cannibalism and torture. Those who refuse to commit these horrors may themselves be raped, murdered, tortured and kept as sex slaves.
At a home for former LRA soldiers, Lisa says she was stunned by the stories she heard. "Just think about the things that they've seen," she says. "If you just look at their faces, they just have looks of utter lifelessness."
Published 04/26/2006
