5,000 extra troops hunt Kony in jungle

Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) (AP)

The African Union has assembled 5,000 soldiers to join in the hunt for Joseph Kony, pictured, leader of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). It aims to remove the LRA from central Africa's vast jungle.

The mission comes a month after a video highlighting Kony's atrocities was launched on the internet. The video by the Invisible Children charity has been viewed 100 million times. The hunt for Kony has primarily been carried out by troops from Uganda, who received a boost last year when President Barack Obama deployed 100 US forces to help regional governments in the mission.

American soldiers are now based in Uganda, Central African Republic, South Sudan, and Congo. The LRA is responsible for 2,600 civilian deaths since 2008, according to the African Union.

AP