Obama dispatches 100 US troops to C. Africa

US President Barack Obama on Friday announced he was sending 100 American troops to central Africa to help battle the infamous rebel group Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). In a letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner, Obama says 12 troops with "appropriate combat equipment" were deployed on October 12 and approximately 100 in total will be deployed including a second combat team and headquarters, communications and logistics personnel. The forces will provide information and advise and assist "select partner nation forces," Obama explained. The troops will not fight except in self-defense. It said they would aid in removing LRA leader Joseph Kony "from the battlefield." The rebel group is accused of a campaign of murder, rape and kidnapping that began 20 years ago. The White House says the first troops arrived in Uganda on Wednesday. Ultimately, they will also deploy in South Sudan, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.