KAMPALA, Ramadan 5, 1437, Jun 10, 2016, SPA -- Uganda plans to withdraw by the end of the year troops involved in an operation to hunt down Lord's Resistance Army rebels in Central African Republic, a military spokesman said on Friday, Reuters reported. Uganda leads a U.S.-supported African Union regional task force tracking the LRA rebels, who are notorious for mutilating civilians and kidnapping children for use as fighters and sex slaves. Most of its 2,500 troops are in eastern Central African Republic. A smaller contingent is based in South Sudan. Spokesman Paddy Ankunda said the withdrawal did not mean Uganda was ending the operation. But while the African Union favoured keeping the Ugandan troops in place, he said, Kampala had been discouraged by insufficient international support. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for the LRA's messianic leader, Joseph Kony, and other senior commanders. However, the brutal rebel movement was known to relatively few outside Central Africa until KONY 2012, a highly successful social media campaign, raised international awareness about the reclusive warlord four years ago. -- SPA 22:08 LOCAL TIME 19:08 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w