Hunt for Joseph Kony, elusive African warlord, is halted For the past several years, Ugandan forces have sought Kony and the LRA, as his militia is called, in the jungles of the Central African Republic, as well as in Uganda, Congo and South Sudan. The Ugandans head an African Union mission of about 3,000 troops, the bulk of whom are from Uganda, in the Central African Republic. In late 2011, the Obama administration dispatched about 100 U.S. Special Forces troops to advise in the effort to capture Kony. Since the 1980s, the LRA, which Kony created in the 1980s to overthrow Uganda's government, has kidnapped children and transformed them into killers and sex slaves. Several years ago, the militia left Uganda but continued to terrorize villagers in central Africa across a swath the size of Texas, taking advantage of weak governments and porous borders. But over the past two years, the militia has significantly weakened, numbering no more than a few hundred fighters, according to U.N. officials and analysts. There have been high-profile defections, fragmenting the group, which now seldom abducts children and stages assaults mostly for food and supplies. But the announcement Wednesday has raised fears among international human rights groups that Kony and the LRA could regroup and reignite their campaign of brutality if African and American forces halt their pursuit. "A premature withdrawal would have devastating and immediate consequences for civilians in LRA affected areas," said Ben Keesey, head of Invisible Children, an activist group that prominently raised public awareness of the LRA's atrocities last year. It gives Kony a new lease on life, enabling him to regain power by initiating new rounds of abductions in communities that will be left totally unprotected and vulnerable to LRA attacks. The Ugandan military is not planning to remove its soldiers from the Central African Republic, Kulayigye said, but it will station them inside their bases until the African Union clarifies their status. The body has suspended the country's memberships and imposed travel bans on the rebel leaders who have appointed themselves leaders of the country. Kulayigye also warned that Kony and the LRA could use the suspension as an opportunity to stage attacks. The former ruler of the Central African Republic, Francois Bozize, who himself seized power in a coup, welcomed the presence of the Ugandans and Americans, and their efforts to eliminate Kony and the LRA. The International Criminal Court at the Hague has indicted Kony on 33 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder and rape. Last year, Invisible Children released the short film "Kony 2012," which was viewed by more than 100 million viewers online, bringing global attention to the LRA.