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The
UN Security Council has released a new report, saying fugitive rebel
leader Joseph Kony is hiding in Sudanese-controlled areas of a disputed
enclave in South Sudan bordering both Sudan and the Central African
Republic.
Kony,
the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has been the subject of a
massive manhunt and is wanted by the International Criminal Court along
with several of his commanders for war crimes, including rape and using
child soldiers.
"Credible
sources suggest LRA leader Joseph Kony and senior LRA commanders have
recently returned to seek safe haven in Sudanese-controlled areas of the
enclave," the report said.
The UN also suggested senior Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) commanders were hiding in northeastern Central African Republic, exploiting the instability in the country to regroup.
Al
Jazeera's James Bays, reporting from the United Nations, said the
report showed that despite being reduced in strength, the LRA remained a
potent threat and a powerful force.
Hunt for Kony
Kony waged a brutal campaign against the Ugandan government for nearly two decades.
The
LRA's rebellion sought to remove the government of President Yoweri
Museveni and rule the country according to the Biblical ten
commandments.
Most
of the group’s fighters were forcibly recruited into its ranks, and
others who refused had their ears, lips and limbs hacked off.
Despite sustained government offensives, it took Ugandan forces nearly two decades to rein them in.
After a series of defeats, the LRA fled to neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Since
2008, the LRA has killed more than 2,600 civilians and abducted more
than 4,000 people, according to Human Rights Watch. The US State
Department has placed a $5m reward for information leading to his
arrest, transfer, or conviction.
A 5,000-strong African Union Regional Task Force, supported by 100 US Special Forces, has been hunting Kony and LRA commanders.
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