American soldiers looking for the Lord’s Resistance Army have set up in eastern Central African Republic (CAR) near the border of the Sudan-controlled Kafia Kinji area, a new report says.
The soldiers, who number about 100, are part of a multinational force which operates in Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, CAR, and South Sudan, to hunt the LRA and the group’s leader Joseph Kony, the Washington Post newspaper reports.
They were sent on orders of US President Barack Obama in 2011 to help the armies of DRC, South Sudan, and Uganda find the LRA. The US soldiers have set up a small base in Sam Ouaundja about 30 miles from Kafia Kinji because they are not allowed to enter Sudan.
According to the Post report, the number of LRA fighters has dropped to fewer than 200 in recent years, and four of Kony’s senior commanders have been killed or captured. They mostly operate in Kafia Kinji and Sudan’s South Darfur state.
“Reported civilian abductions have fluctuated but dwindled overall. Tens of thousands of villagers who fled the LRA have returned home,” the report said.
Rewards for LRA information
The US government has previously announced financial rewards for information leading to the capture of Joseph Kony and other LRA leaders. Their troops in Central Africa have been seeking information from the Seleka armed group in CAR about the LRA, according to the report. The US occasionally provides medical assistance to the Seleka.
The Seleka captured LRA commander Dominic Ongwen earlier this year and handed him over to US forces.
According to the Washington Post, some US soldiers are critical of the collaboration with the Seleka and accuse the CAR fighters of trading gemstones and elephant tusks with the LRA. US President Obama will decide next month whether to keep the American troops in Central Africa to look for Kony or to end the mission.