After six years, US troops end hunt for LRA warlord Kony
Since 1987, the LRA has killed more than 100,000 people and abducted 60,000 children; today it has fewer than 100 fighters — but some still want the US to stay
Libreville — On Wednesday, US special forces begin pulling out of the Central African Republic (CAR) where they were deployed in 2011 to help hunt the brutal Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) warlord, Joseph Kony. The move, which was announced last month, will see US troops pulling out of the country’s east where they have been helping Ugandan forces track down the feared LRA’s rebels. "The time has come to move forward because the organisation itself is really in a survival mode," general Thomas Waldhauser, head of the US military’s Africa Command (Africom) said in a telephone briefing last week. One of Africa’s longest-surviving rebel groups, the LRA has terrorised parts of central Africa for 30 years. Several years ago it counted several thousand fighters but today has fewer than 100, with the rebels dispersed across parts of CAR, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and South Sudan. Since it was set up by Kony in 1987, the LRA has slaughtered more than 100,000 people and abducted ...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.