Hunt for Kony lacks troops, equipment

2012-07-25 12:47

The leader of the Lord's Resistance Army Joseph Kony. (AFP Files)

Kampala - The head of a planned African Union force to hunt warlord Joseph Kony says he has not started work because he doesn't have troops or equipment.

Ugandan Colonel Dick Olum, whose appointment was announced in February, spoke to The Associated Press from Yambio, South Sudan, on Wednesday as the UN and AU officials gathered in Uganda to plan regional efforts to catch Kony and dismantle his Lord's Resistance Army.

Olum said the Kony hunt was still in the hands of about 2 000 Ugandan soldiers and 500 South Sudanese troops. The AU force was to have at least 5 000 troops.

Kony's group is notorious for forcibly recruiting boys and girls who then become soldiers or wives for commanders.

US President Barack Obama has sent 100 US troops to Central Africa to help in the manhunt.

- AP