US sends troops in to African conflict

THE United States is venturing into one of Africa’s bloodiest conflicts, sending about 100 US troops to central Africa to support a year-long fight against a guerrilla group accused of horrific atrocities.

President Barack Obama’s administration said the troops would advise, not engage in combat, unless forced to defend themselves.

In a letter to the US Congress, Obama said that the troops would assist local forces in a long-running battle against the Lord’s Resistance Army, considered one of Africa’s most ruthless rebel groups, and help to hunt down its notorious leader, Joseph Kony.

The first of the troops arrived in Uganda on Wednesday, and others will be sent to South Sudan, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

While the size of the US contingent is small, it an unusual intervention.

Although some American troops are based in the Repbublic of Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa, and small groups of soldiers have been deployed to Somalia, the US traditionally has been reluctant to commit forces to help African nations put down insurgencies following a disastrous campaign in Somalia in the 1990s.

It highlights the Obama administration’s escalating attention to and fears about security risks in Africa, including terror networks, piracy and unstable nations.The move was intended to show some engagement to lessen the impact of one of the worst protracted wars in Africa.

Obama declared that his decision to send troops was in keeping with the national security interests of the US.