Sudan's First Vice President Salva Kiir defended giving aid to the wanted Ugandan rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) saying it would help start peace talks and stop them looting and killing in the lawless south. In a videotaped meeting in early May between south Sudan's vice president, Riek Machar, and LRA chief Joseph Kony, Machar secured a request for peace talks and handed Kony a wad of cash saying it was $20,000 to buy "food... not ammunition."

"This is the only way to stop them from killing, from raping ... what is wrong with that if that can bring them back to law abiding citizens of Uganda?" Kiir asked reporters late on Monday night in Khartoum. Kiir was positive that the talks would succeed. "I believe when we start to talk with Kony and the government of Uganda, in a very short time we will bring peace to northern Uganda and by that we would also bring peace to southern Sudan," he said. The Ugandan ambassador to Khartoum, Mull Katende, said they were waiting to hear back from Kony on where and when the talks would begin. Read more at Reuters.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has said neighbouring DR Congo cannot continue to harbor militias bent on destabilizing Uganda and also remain a member of the United Nations Assembly. "The only problem we (the region) are remaining with is Congo. Congo should disassociate themselves from these killers. This is not a favour, it is an obligation under the international law," Museveni remarked. Uganda accuses DRC of harbouring the notorious Lords Resistance Army (LRA) rebel chief Joseph Kony. Read more at The Monitor.

Oroma Gladys, Uganda-CAN news correspondent in northern Uganda, reports -

A total of five rebels were last week killed by the Uganda People's Defense Forces (UPDF) in Pader and Kitgum district. Among those killed was a rebel commander identified as Captain Obali. Northern Uganda UPDF spokesman Chris Magezi also said that the UPDF recovered four sub-machine guns from the rebels. Meanwhile, a rebel commander, identified as Okello, sent his wife, escort and maid out of the "bush" to accept amnesty.

William Bionx Akena, Uganda-CAN news correspondent in Kitgum, reports -

Uganda-CAN recently met a 19-year-old ex-combatant named Josephine, who was abducted at the age of 13 while walking alongside her brother in 1998. Six years later, Josephine was able to escape on one of the LRA operations in Uganda.

Today, Josephine is working as a housemaid in Kitgum district, and she says her biggest regret in life is that she has lacked the chance to get an education. Upon returning from the "bush," Josephine attempted to enroll at school, but the trauma made concentration nearly impossible. Further, she said she was seriously abused by various men. She still has nightmares about being raped. The horrific conditions in the IDP camps greatly add to this suffering. For many ex-combatants like Josephine who manage to escape the LRA, the material and psychological challenges awaiting them at home are immense.

The Ugandan military has claimed to have killed 14 members of the LRA, including three commanders, in the past week during operations in Kitgum and Pader district. Read more at News24.

Uganda Rising, the new film about the struggle for peace in northern Uganda, premiered tonight at the HotDocs International Film Festival in Toronto, Canada. Purchase a copy today!

Despite declarations from Ugandan military officials that the LRA has been all but destroyed, the LRA continues to be capable of abducting civilians and disrupting efforts to return IDPs to their homes. In the last two weeks of April over 20 civilians in northern Uganda were abducted in Gulu, Pader, and Kitgum districts, and there continues to be consistent LRA presence in the region. Most estimates place the number of remaining LRA rebels at below 500, with scattered groups operating in the DR Congo, southern Sudan, and northern Uganda.

Uganda Rising, a documentary about the 20-year war and humanitarian crisis in northern Uganda, is set to premiere this week at the renowned HotDocs International Documentary Film Festival. Uganda Rising is produced by Act for Stolen Children, a Uganda-CAN partner, and aims to uncover the "hidden war" in northern Uganda.

The United Nations said on Saturday that reports of a Ugandan army raid into Congo were "credible" after peacekeepers conducted a verification mission in the remote northeastern border region. A Congolese government source confirmed the incursion to Reuters news agency. "We know that the Ugandan troops who came into the Congo are well armed and have tanks. There is fighting going on in Garamba National Park (50 km, or 30 miles, west of Aba)," the source reportedly said, adding Uganda's Foreign Minister was expected to come to Congo soon to discuss the situation. But Uganda's Foreign Minister, Mr Sam Kutesa, dismissed Monuc claims as untrue. Read more at The Monitor.

The Daily Monitor has published an editorial, which noting growing international attention to the war in northern Uganda, proclaims that the Government of Uganda's failure to end this crisis will hurt the government's international image-building, including the touted Commonwealth Heads on Government Meeting set for next year. Read more at The Monitor.