Uganda Suspends Hunt for Rebel Chief Kony in C.Africa

Uganda has suspended its hunt for Lord's Resistance Army chief Joseph Kony in Central African Republic after Seleka rebels took control of the country, an army spokesman said Wednesday.

"We have temporarily suspended operations against the LRA until further notice," army spokesman Felix Kulayigye said.

"We are not pulling our soldiers out of CAR but they are congregating at our bases."

The Seleka rebel coalition seized the CAR capital Bangui last month and toppled president Francois Bozize.

Uganda had over a thousand troops searching for LRA fighters in the sparsely populated jungles of eastern CAR operating under the auspices of the African Union.

Kulayigye said that as the AU did not recognize the Seleka capture of power, the Ugandan army could not continue to operate.

LRA rebel leader Kony is believed to be hiding out in a remote area close to where the borders of CAR, Sudan and South Sudan meet.

Infamous for mutilating its victims and abducting children for use as fighters and sex slaves, the LRA has waged an insurgency against the Ugandan government for over 25 years.

The group is now thought to number several hundred fighters.