The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), the rebel group whose bloody raids drove hundreds of thousands of civilians into refugee camps in northern Uganda, has now opened up operations in the Central African Republic, Bishop Juan José Aguirre Munos of Bangassou told the Fides news service.

Once again, the LRA fighters are taking a heavy toll on civilians. The LRA and its leader, Joseph Kony, have been charged with multiple human-rights violations.

The Central African Republic does not share a border with Uganda. But after a joint military operation of Ugandan, Sudanese and Congolese forces drove the LRA out of northern Uganda and southern Sudan, the rebel group relocated to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

From there, the rebels have been carrying out raids against villages in the Central African Republic.