US to seek ways to continue helping hunt for Kony

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A U.S. official says the United States is looking for ways to ensure the hunt for warlord Joseph Kony in Central African Republic continues despite a change in leadership in the country.

The U.S. on Wednesday announced a new $5 million reward for the arrest of Kony, the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, a small but brutal band of fighters who abduct children as fighters and sexual slaves.

U.S. special forces are helping as advisers in the hunt for Kony. But after rebels deposed the Central African Republic's president earlier this month, the search there has been suspended.

State Department official Stephen J. Rapp, said Thursday that the rebels want to see Kony expelled from their country, opening the potential for support for the U.S. and African operation there.