Reign of Joseph Kony Near End?

Reports suggest African warlord is ill, considering surrender
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 21, 2013 5:38 PM CST
Reign of Joseph Kony Near End?
Joseph Kony in a 2006 photo.   (AP Photo/Stuart Price, File, Pool)

"It's true, Joseph Kony wants to come out of the bush," says the president of the Central African Republic. Tantalizing words, though there's plenty of doubt about how true they actually are. President Michel Djotodia insists his country has been in direct talks with Kony on a possible surrender, reports AFP. (Most Americans are probably familiar with Kony, whose Lord's Resistance Army has been fighting the Ugandan government for two decades, via a viral video calling for his capture. He just might be the world's most wanted warlord.)

US officials say they doubt that Kony himself has been involved in any such talks. But even if that's true, there's another to think his days as a warlord are numbered. The BBC cites reports that Kony is in "fading health" and a "shadow of his former self," while an African Union envoy told the UN this week that he may be suffering from a "serious, uncharacterized illness." The International Criminal Court in The Hague, meanwhile, wants Kony on charges that include forcing children to serve as soldiers and sex slaves. (More Joseph Kony stories.)

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