Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, is possibly hiding in the disputed Kafia Kinji territory between Darfur and Western Bahr al Ghazal of South Sudan, the UN secretary-general reported.

Kafia Kinji, which is claimed by South Sudan, is under control of South Darfur authorities. The area has a wildlife preserve and deposits of uranium, gold and copper.

The northern Ugandan rebel leader and his troops have been on the run in Congo, Central African Republic and western Sudan and South Sudan for several years.

In a report to the UN Security Council made public on Tuesday, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, “Credible sources suggest LRA leader Joseph Kony and senior LRA commanders have recently returned to seek safe haven in Sudanese-controlled areas of the enclave.”

Sudan’s government has denied his presence.

The UN estimates that the scattered forces of Kony now number an estimated 500 rebels at most, including women and children. The report says that Kony moved to the enclave after the LRA participated in operations against Muslims in the Central African Republic (CAR) alongside the Anti-Balaka Christian militia groups.

Joseph Kony is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape and forced enlistment of children.

A joint African Union regional task force funded by the European Union and supported by the United States military captured Charles Okello, a junior LRA commander on 21 April, and rescued three women and seven children in an operation in southeast CAR.

This follows reports that Okot Odhiambo – Joseph Kony’s deputy – was fatally wounded by Ugandan troops. However, a US military official said this had not been confirmed.

In March, the US deployed four CV-22 Osprey aircraft, two C-130 transport planes and two KC-135 refuelling aircraft, as well as 150 US Air Force special forces personnel, to join the 100 US special forces personnel already in Uganda, in order to assist anti-LRA efforts.

According to the UN report, the LRA groups now are “involved primarily in survival mode activities which entail attacking civilians, killing, looting and kidnapping.”

But the UN nonetheless described the LRA as “a serious threat with the potential to destabilize the sub-region.”

The UN suspects that some combatants from the CAR together with community leaders may be in collusion with LRA to provide the group with information about the international operation against Kony.

The United States government has announced that it is willing to pay a reward for as much as $5,000,000 for information leading to the capture or arrest of Joseph Kony, Okot Odhiambo, or Dominic Ongwen.