KAMPALA
The Uganda People's Defense Forces believes that Joseph Kony, leader of the rebel Lord's Liberation Army (LRA), is hiding out in the war-ravaged Central African Republic (CAR).
"Kony is currently taking advantage of the non-governed and poor state of CAR and its large remote areas," army spokesperson Lt. Col. Paddy Ankunda told Anadolu Agency. "He is hiding in those jungles."
The LRA is a notorious rebel group blamed for abducting, killing and displacing local populations across East and Central Africa.
Kony, the group's leader, has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes.
"We know he has been weakened," said Ankunda. "We have information that he's left with only 200 soldiers."
Recent media reports have suggested that Okot Odhiambo, a top lieutenant of Kony's (also wanted by the Hague-based ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity), had been killed.
Claiming to champion the marginalized communities of northern Uganda, the LRA first took up arms in 1986 after President Yoweri Museveni took power.
Based in the region for 20 years, the LRA failed to win over the locals, however, who said the group didn't represent their collective grievances.
From 2008 to 2010, the LRA had been one of the most violent groups in the Congo region, reportedly killing some 2300 civilians and abducting nearly 2500 others.
The LRA's first major foray into the CAR was in March 2008, when it abducted dozens of people in a series of raids near Obo, capital of Haut Mbomou, one of CAR's 14 prefectures.
In 2013, LRA militants moved further north into Haut Kotto, CAR's largest prefecture.
By Halima Athumani
englishnews@aa.com.tr
