US offers up to $5 million reward for Ugandan warlord Kony

WASHINGTON – Reuters

Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony holds his daughter and son in this photo. Kony has been accused of terrorizing northern Uganda for 20 years. REUTERS photo

The United States offered April 3 a reward of up to $5 million each for fugitive Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony and some of his top aides in the Lord’s Resistance Army militant group.

Kony, who has been accused of terrorizing northern Uganda for 20 years and was ejected from the country along with his militant group in 2005, is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes. The warlord is believed to roam the remote jungle straddling the borders of South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Central African Republic. His insurgencts are accused of abducting children to use as fighters and sex slaves, and of hacking off victims’ limbs as a method of intimidation and revenge.

The State Department offers rewards of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest, transfer, or conviction of such fugitives.

U.S. President Barack Obama last year authorized a mission by 100 U.S. special forces helping Ugandan troops scour the African jungles for Kony. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland confirmed that the hunt has been suspended after militants seized control of the Central African Republic last month.