For over 25 years, an army made up of mostly child soldiers, some barely able to hold a weapon, led by a man named Joseph Kony, massacres and kidnaps civilians all over the world. Uganda. This conflict has since spread from Uganda in the north and west to other regions such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and parts of southern Sudan. The conflict is also affecting other key regions of central Africa, as Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army have killed thousands and displaced millions of Africans. Despite several attempts at meetings and arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court against Kony and his troops, Kony refused to cooperate and this war still rages and constitutes one of the longest conflicts in the history of the Africa.Context and causes of conflictConflicts in Africa Historically, in Uganda, a power struggle between two main actors, such as the northern versus southern tribes, the Acholi versus the Langi, and the Bantu speakers versus the Niolitics, is specifically triggered by the central themes of control. During the late 1800s and early to mid-1900s, also known as the colonial period, Uganda was divided between Bantu-speaking southern groups and Nilotic-speaking northern groups. While the Bantu speakers were favored politically and economically, the Niolitics had military dominance. This remained the case throughout the presidencies of Milton Obote and Idi Amin. (S1) General elections were held in 1980 following the overthrow of Idi Amin, won by Milton Obote. Obote returned to power during his second presidential term until 1985. The general elections were allegedly rigged to allow Obote to return to power. The formation of the army, traditionally dominated by northern Ugandans, led to polarization between the northern...... middle of paper...... of the ICC. “The ICC in Uganda depends on the Ugandan state, which is of course a protagonist in the conflict. This also means that the ICC has been asked to deal with criminal activities that are beyond the control and capacity of the Ugandan justice system. (S10) Several critics have suggested measures to examine traditional justice against ICC arrest warrants. If charged on the basis of ICC arrest warrants, the LRA will be able to mount a defense that could in turn be embarrassing for the Ugandan government. With a traditional system, the Acholi are believed to be more primitive and would only involve countries in the regional conflict, as opposed to foreigners. The traditional system is designed to “facilitate forgiveness and reconciliation within communities” and would not provide Kony and the LRA with a platform to defend against the Acholi..