U.N, AU vow to take on LRA

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UNITED NATIONS, June 29 (UPI) -- The objective of a plan by the African Union and United Nations is to put an end to militancy tied to the Lord's Resistance Army, an African envoy said.

Abou Moussa, U.N. special envoy for Central Africa, said a strategy for addressing LRA conflict was developed through consultations with U.N. and AU leaders.

"The ultimate objective is to ensure that the LRA is stopped, those who are suffering from these atrocities are assisted," he said in a statement.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in has called on the international community to back central African countries in their fight against the LRA.

The LRA is suspected of using child soldiers in its militant campaign. Girls are used as sex slaves, the United Nations said, and the LRA has a reputation for killing and mutilating its victims.

LRA leader Joseph Kony remains at large despite a 2005 indictment by the International Criminal Court on more than 30 counts of violations of international law, including war crimes.

A report to the U.N. Security Council states that close to 600 children, including more than 250 girls, were abducted and conscripted into the LRA from Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic and South Sudan in during a 3-year period beginning in 2009.