African Union forces start hunt for Joseph Kony

African Union forces start hunt for Joseph Kony

Credit: AFP/Getty Images

(FILES) A file photo taken on November 12, 2006, shows the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), Joseph Kony, answering journalists' questions in Ri-Kwamba, southern Sudan, following a meeting with UN humanitarian chief Jan Egeland. The UN Security Council on January 16, 2009 strongly condemned recent attacks by Ugandan rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan and urged them to disarm. The 15-member body noted that these attacks "have resulted in over 500 dead and over 400 abducted, as well as the displacement of over 104,000 people." AFP PHOTO /STUART PRICE (Photo credit should read STUART PRICE/AFP/Getty Images)

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Associated Press

Posted on September 18, 2012 at 10:00 AM

Updated Tuesday, Sep 18 at 2:55 PM

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A military official says Ugandan troops tracking infamous rebel leader Joseph Kony have handed over command of the operation to African Union troops from Uganda, South Sudan and the Central African Republic.

The ceremony took place Tuesday in the South Sudan town of Nzara, said Ugandan Maj. Alex Ahabyona, an intelligence officer for the Kony operation.

The AU force, which was announced early this year, had failed to start earlier because of lack of equipment and troops. It remains unclear how many of the proposed 5,000 troops have been amassed, although the handover ceremony suggests they have enough to start with. The force will be led by Ugandan Col. Dick Olum.

Some 100 U.S. troops are helping regional governments to eliminate Kony and his murderous Lord's Resistance Army.

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