Persistent attacks on the local populations in southern Sudan by the Ugandan rebel group, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), could exacerbate food insecurity in a region already experiencing shortages as a result of poor harvests, a famine alert agency has warned. The LRA, a brutal group of insurgents widely condemned for committing atrocities against civilians in northern Uganda for over 18 years, is said to have rear bases in southern Sudan. In recent weeks, it has intensified its attacks on villages there.