Four Central African nations are preparing to ratchet up the search for the fugitive outlaw Joseph Kony and members of his rebel Lord's Resistance Army. Military leaders are organizing a coordinated campaign to position an end to almost three decades of LRA terror.
The defense ministers and military chiefs of Uganda, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo Tuesday discussed the principles of engagement for an offensive to stamp out the LRA. South Sudan can also be thinking about the trouble, but its officials were said to be busy elsewhere and will not attend.
Officials say the army chiefs will ask the African Union and the United Nations to endorse a strong mandate for his or her campaign. AU Peace and Security Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra says the goal is to neutralize not only the self-proclaimed prophet Kony, but his entire band of 150 to 200 followers.
"Joseph Kony can be a very good results of our concerted joint action but then you definately should be sure you neutralize the full organization," Lamamra said.
About 2,500 troops are already said to be engaged within the Kony manhunt. Lamamra says he expects that number to double because the campaign gains momentum.
"The objective is 5,000 troops to be deployed in what we call the theater of operations, covers portion of the territory of the DRC, the Central African Republic and South Sudan. But then you definately have troops from the countries themselves and troops from Uganda," Lamamra said.
Kony and his LRA have waged a 26-year reign of terror in Central Africa, attacking and looting villages, killing and kidnapping their inhabitants, and displacing millions of folk from their homes.
Ugandan military commanders last month accused Sudan of helping the LRA, a charge the Khartoum government denied.
The Usa designated the LRA a terrorist group in 2001. Last year, U.S. President Barack Obama dispatched 100 military advisers to Central Africa to work with the regional forces.
But the long hunt for Kony moved up the political agenda recently, following the net success of a video by a gaggle campaigning for his capture.
At a U.S. Senate hearing last month, lawmakers signaled they might push to expand a State Department “Rewards for Justice†program to incorporate Kony. Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Johnnie Carson told senators the U.S. is providing radios and cellphones to communities within the Congo as portion of the campaign to bring Kony and his followers to justice. Â
Commissioner Lamamra told reporters the Peace and Security Council is slated to check the manhunt strategy next week and send it on for approval by the United Nations Security Council in June.
When asked whether he thought this intensified campaign would worry Kony, who has avoided capture for many years, Lamamra commented, "He has every reason to be scared."
From WhatNewsToday.net
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