Barlonyo (also Bar Lonyo, meaning "field of wealth" in

Luo Luo or LUO may refer to: Luo peoples and languages *Luo peoples, an ethno-linguistic group of eastern and central Africa **Luo people of Kenya and Tanzania or Joluo, an ethnic group in western Kenya, eastern Uganda, and northern Tanzania. *** Luol ...

) is a village in northern

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

near

Lira Lira is the name of several currency units. It is the current Turkish lira, currency of Turkey and also the local name of the Lebanese pound, currencies of Lebanon and of Syrian pound, Syria. It is also the name of several former currencies, ...

town, where a number of internally displaced people (IDPs) from parts of northern Uganda lived, as a result of a 20-year LRA insurgency. It is located in Orit Parish, at the North -eastern end of Ogur sub-county in Lira District. It is a 45-minute drive from Lira town. At the center of this conflict is the

Lord's Resistance Army The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) is a Christian extremist organization operating in Central Africa and East Africa. Its origins were in the War in Uganda (1986–1994), Ugandan insurgency (1986–1994) against Yoweri Museveni, during which Jo ...

(LRA) led by

Joseph Kony Joseph Rao Kony (born September 1961) is a Ugandan militant and warlord who founded the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), designated as a terrorist group by the MONUSCO, United Nations Peacekeepers, the European Union, and various other governments ...

. The LRA is a rebel group that had bases in Acholi sub Region of northern Uganda. It was formed in 1987. The rebels have been accused of many atrocities in the area, including kidnapping children to train as soldiers or use as

sex slave Sexual slavery and sexual exploitation is an attachment of any ownership right over one or more people with the intent of coercing or otherwise forcing them to engage in sexual activities. This includes forced labor that results in sexual ...

s. The Ugandan government blamed the LRA for a massacre of over 200 civilians at the IDP camp in Barlonyo on February 21, 2004. Unofficial reports indicate that somewhere between 300 and 500 people were either massacred or went missing that day (according to locals, the government has allegedly tried to abbreviate the toll). The camp has since been disbanded by the government. Plans are in high gear to open a polytechnic school in the area in memory of the killings.

References

{{reflist Lira District Populated places in Uganda

See also

References