Kony, whose forces have spent years attacking central African villages, mutilating civilians and stealing children, has been indicted by the International Criminal Court.  Image copyright AFP Image caption Joseph Kony is wanted on war crimes charges 
 
 The US has announced it is sending military aircraft and more special forces to look for Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony. The CV-22 Osprey aircraft will arrive in Uganda by midweek, along with refueling aircraft and about 150 Air Force Special Operations forces and other airmen to fly and maintain the planes, according to Amanda Dory, deputy assistant secretary of defense for African affairs. Dory and other officials emphasized that the Ospreys will be used for troop transport and that the rules of engagement for U.S. forces remain the same as for about 100 Special Operations troops that Obama first sent to help find Kony in October 2011. U.S. personnel are authorized to “provide information, advice and assistance” to an African Union military task force tracking Kony and his organization, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), across Uganda, the Central African Republic, South Sudan and Congo. Ospreys are tilt-rotor aircraft capable of landing and lifting straight off the ground like helicopters, but they can also fly and land as fixed-wing planes.
– A viral video campaign may not have turned up a warlord accused of murder, rape, and kidnapping in central Africa, but the White House is hoping a ramped up effort by the United States will. The Washington Post reports that President Obama has ordered a strengthened US presence in Uganda—including at least four CV-22 Osprey aircraft, 150 Air Force Special Ops forces and other airmen—in an attempt to find Joseph Kony and deliver him to the International Criminal Court. That brings the total of US troops in the country to 300, outnumbering the estimated 250 fighters of Kony's Lord's Resistance Army, which has taken some major blows recently. The parameters for the new troops—which also include refueling planes, the BBC notes—will be much the same as when Obama sent 100 troops to hunt for Kony in 2011: Personnel may "provide information, advice, and assistance" to the African Union task force hunting Kony and the LRA across Uganda, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, and the Congo, but they may not engage in combat unless in self-defense. The Ospreys in particular "will make a significant difference in the ability to respond to leads" about Kony's whereabouts, and can carry 24 troops each, a Defense Department official said.