Feared rebel army has dwindled, report says

UGANDA's feared rebel group, the Lord's Resistance Army, has dwindled to the "low hundreds" according to a military spokesman, who said without external support the ultraviolent organisation could soon cease to exist.

The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has about 400 fighters, less than half the number it had two years ago, according to a report from the Enough Project, based on interviews with more than 50 former LRA troops.

Uganda's army spokesman, Felix Kulayigye, said he thought the current LRA strength was even lower, at 200 fighters. That is far below the strength the LRA had at its height in 2003, when it had 3,000 armed troops and 2,000 people in support roles. Still, the group is extremely dangerous. As recently as May, the LRA - which follows a twisted ideology based on the Ten Commandments - killed 36 people and drove 10,000 from their homes in Central African Republic, the UN said.

LRA leader Joseph Kony, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, entered the Darfur region of Sudan last month, said Mr Kulayigye. Ugandan forces have been pursuing him across central Africa since the launch of an operation in December 2008, but cannot follow him into Sudan.

Uganda believes Sudanese officials know Kony is there but does not know whether he is receiving support from the Khartoum government.

Darfur, Mr Kulayigye said, is a difficult place for Kony to operate, and "he can only stay there if he gets support from the Sudan armed forces".

In late 2008 the Ugandan government launched a hunt for Kony's group that forced LRA fighters to scatter. Pockets of fighters are believed to be operating in Sudan, Congo, and Central African Republic.