By Raymond Baguma

A senior US military officer has said eliminating rebel leader Joseph Kony in a style similar to that of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden may be difficult because of the rebel’s area of operation.

Gen. Carter F. Ham, the new commander of the US African command, on Wednesday said ending the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency and locating Kony was an important mission to the US.

The LRA, which is listed as a terrorist group by the US, and whose leaders are wanted for crimes against humanity, operates in Sudan, Central African Republic and Congo.

“Trying to find one man or a small group of people in a large area is a difficult endeavour,” Ham said.

He said the solution for Kony could be for the US to help African nations affected by the insurgency to share information, which could facilitate capturing the elusive rebel leader.

“These are the kinds of things you cannot put a time line on. But we know the sooner we capture him and deny LRA the opportunity to continue with their activities, the better off we will be,” he said.

Ham was addressing journalists at
the US embassy, at the conclusion of his first visit to Uganda since taking over the Africa command in March. He replaced retired Gen. William Ward.

During his two-day visit, Ham met President Yoweri Museveni, senior military and government officials.

Regional security issues such as the situation in Somalia, Libya, South Sudan and Congo were discussed in the meeting.