US President Barack Obama has authorized 100 military advisors to deploy to Uganda to aid efforts to oust the leader of Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) - a rebel group that has allegedly committed many human rights atrocities in the region, DPA reported.
"For more than two decades, the Lord's Resistance Army has murdered, raped, and kidnapped tens of thousands of men, women, and children in central Africa," Obama said in a letter to Congress Friday.
Human rights groups said the LRA has killed thousands and driven as many as 300,000 Africans from their homes. The rebels have also been accused of using child soldiers and sex slaves.
The United States has since 2008 supported regional military efforts to pursue the LRA and protect local communities. Even with some limited US assistance, however, regional military efforts have been unsuccessful in toppling LRA leader Joseph Kony or his top commanders, Obama said.
US forces are expected to provide support to regional forces that are "working toward the removal of Joseph Kony from the battlefield" and will not engage in combat unless attacked, Obama said.
The initial US team arrived in Uganda on Wednesday and the remaining forces are expected to deploy over the next month.
"Our forces will provide information, advice, and assistance to select partner nation forces," Obama said.
With the permission of the host countries, parts of the US contingent are slated to deploy into Uganda and neighboring South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.