Obama Sends US Troops to Uganda
- Thread starter Locutus
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Both the U.S. and Uganda have called off the search for notorious warlord Joseph Kony and his followers, the Lord's Resistance Army, saying that Kony's power has dwindled to the point that he's no longer a threat.
The group carried out brutal murders, rapes and mutilations, and was known for kidnapping children and forcing them to become soldiers. Uganda has been battling Kony and his followers for decades, and U.S. Special Operations forces joined the search for the warlord in 2011.
A viral video in 2012 brought Kony international infamy.
In late March, the U.S. announced that the hunt for the Lord's Resistance Army was no longer a priority. "Kony's not an issue," Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, the head of U.S. Africa Command, said at a news conference. "He's irrelevant. ... This thing is coming to an end."
The removal of U.S. troops from the search was officially announced on March 29 The U.S. stated that four of the five top leaders of the LRA have been captured, while Kony remains in hiding with a dwindling number of followers.
This week, Uganda announced that it, too, would be withdrawing troops from the Central African Republic, or CAR, where forces have been searching for Kony.
Uganda said the LRA is now ineffective. But a spokesman for Uganda's military also told Reuters that his country was discouraged by a lack of international support for the operation.
Maj.-Gen. Donald Bolduc, commander of U.S. Special Operations in Africa, told NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton that "this is a success story."
U.S., Uganda Call Off Search For Infamous Warlord Joseph Kony : The Two-Way : NPR
The group carried out brutal murders, rapes and mutilations, and was known for kidnapping children and forcing them to become soldiers. Uganda has been battling Kony and his followers for decades, and U.S. Special Operations forces joined the search for the warlord in 2011.
A viral video in 2012 brought Kony international infamy.
In late March, the U.S. announced that the hunt for the Lord's Resistance Army was no longer a priority. "Kony's not an issue," Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, the head of U.S. Africa Command, said at a news conference. "He's irrelevant. ... This thing is coming to an end."
The removal of U.S. troops from the search was officially announced on March 29 The U.S. stated that four of the five top leaders of the LRA have been captured, while Kony remains in hiding with a dwindling number of followers.
This week, Uganda announced that it, too, would be withdrawing troops from the Central African Republic, or CAR, where forces have been searching for Kony.
Uganda said the LRA is now ineffective. But a spokesman for Uganda's military also told Reuters that his country was discouraged by a lack of international support for the operation.
Maj.-Gen. Donald Bolduc, commander of U.S. Special Operations in Africa, told NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton that "this is a success story."
U.S., Uganda Call Off Search For Infamous Warlord Joseph Kony : The Two-Way : NPR