President Obama is sending additional troops and military aircraft to Uganda to help search for African warlord Joseph Kony.
You know the name – perhaps from the widely viewed video “Kony 2012.” The fugitive rebel commander is thought to be hiding in central Africa, where he’s reportedly been for years. (Via Invisible Children)
Last year, Uganda reportedly suspended its search for Kony. The extra U.S. troops will help support African Union operations in the area.
CBS reports, “At least 4 CV-22 Osprey aircraft will arrive in Uganda this week with 150 airforce special operations troops.”
But these resources are not being sent into combat with Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army, or LRA. While the troops will be combat-ready, they are only authorized to provide information and assistance – unless they are acting in self-defense. (Via United States Navy, United States Army)
WMMT reminds us, “The United Nations accuses Kony’s army of killing and mutilating innocent people and kidnapping thousands of children to be soldiers and sex slaves.”
The LRA has reportedly weakened in the past few years. The Wall Street Journal reports Kony is down to about 300 followers. And the number of people killed by the LRA has fallen 75 percent since 2010.
But a report from The Washington Post says it’s not just Kony’s forces the U.S. needs to be concerned with. The country is one of the world’s most dangerous.
This is also interesting timing politically. The administration doesn’t want this support confused with its disapproval of Uganda’s new anti-homosexual law enacted last month.
The National Security Council’s African Affairs Director Grant Harris tells The Washington Post, “‘Ensuring justice and accountability for human rights violators like the LRA and protecting’ the rights of gay and transgendered persons ‘are not mutually exclusive.’”
