The Ugandan government has rejected the new LRA demands that the UPDF be reduced in size to allow space for integration of the rebel forces in the national army. "We are demanding for a restructuring of the armed forces and the formation of a force that will take up some of the members of the UPDF, the LRA, and any other army or group such as the ADF and PRA if they so exist," the spokesperson of LRA peace delegation said. However the head of the government delegation said none of the LRA demands would be accepted. On the integration of the armies, Dr. Rugunda said the UPDF is the only constitutionally recognised army in Uganda. He also said the government cannot reduce the size of the UPDF because its strength is determined by the needs for national security. Read more at The Monitor.

The LRA delegation has called for a power sharing agreement with the Ugandan military as the next step in peace negotiations, calling for the UPDF to control of the southern and western portions of Uganda and LRA and other rebel groups to take charge of north and eastern Uganda. The demand is included in a position paper the LRA released on Wednesday that included a list of proposals for comprehensive solutions to the conflict in northern Uganda. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni vehemently rejected rebel proposals for power sharing earlier in the negotiations. There are a number of other concerns that the LRA's proposal to legally occupy northern Uganda is not feasible, including its composition of mostly of abducted and/or child soldiers and its inability to be representative of a population that it has terrorized for the past two decades. Read more at The Monitor.

Amidst accusations against both sides of violations of the August 26 cessation of hostilities agreement, negotiations between the government of Uganda and the LRA resumed today. Ugandan government officials have accused LRA leader Joseph Kony of ordering his commanders to leave the ceasefire zones, and have reported that up to 1000 LRA forces have moved out of the zones in violation of the ceasefire agreement. This came on the heels of LRA accusations that Ugandan military forces were deploying around the zones, ostensibly preparing to attack LRA positions.

Southern Sudanese President Salva Kiir met today with both sides to plead for talks to resume, which they consequently have done. Yet it is unclear whether the violations of the cessation of hostilities agreement will precipitate and end to negotiations and return to violence. Northern Ugandan leaders and Sudanese mediators have requested for international support in monitoring the ceasefire, building trust, and holding parties accountable to the talks, but there has as yet been little response.

Join Uganda-CAN's October 10th Call-In to Congress to get the U.S. government to support these negotiations!

President Museveni has announced that the Ugandan government will contribute $1 million to facilitate the peace process in Juba. "This money was passed to the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) as Uganda’s contribution to the peace process in Juba," said internal affairs minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda. Sources said Uganda had been under donor pressure to contribute to the rising cost of the peace process. Read more at The New Vision.

The head of the LRA's delegation to the Juba peace talks yesterday announced that the LRA may boycott the negotiations until the Ugandan military withdraws troops surrounding two LRA assembly points in southern Sudan, and said that the talks were in "grave danger of failure." As many as 1000 LRA rebels have reportedly left the two assembly points in the past several days because of the alleged deployment of Ugandan troops. Officials from the Ugandan military yesterday denied that Ugandan troops are deployed around the assembly points. Read more at Reuters AlterNet.

The LRA's potential boycott of the peace talks and withdrawal from assembly points, as well as the alleged deployment of Ugandan troops, pose a great danger to the momentum for peace generated by the cessation of hostilities truce signed in late August. However, they are not insurmountable setbacks. Ugandan political scientist Paul Omach said yesterday, "There's still some hope for negotiations. Much depends on the partners, not just the Sudanese mediators, but others like the U.S. Uganda is very dependent on aid from donors. They can apply pressure." Read below about how you can join citizens from across the country in demanding that the US government apply this crucial pressure to achieve peace in northern Uganda!

The Daily Monitor is reporting that LRA leader Joseph Kony yesterday unilaterally ordered all his commanders to withdraw from the two South Sudan assembly points. The move, which stands to shatter the August 26 Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, comes in the wake of reports by the LRA, of a UPDF siege at one of the assembly points. The rebels have now given the government a one-week ultimatum within which Kampala should withdraw the UPDF troops, or else, they walk out of the peace negotiations in Juba. In another move the LRA declined to post its representation to the Cessation of Hostilities Monitoring team, at the eleventh hour. These reports are deeply disturbing. The LRA's unwillingness to send representatives to the monitoring team and its recent threats to pull out of peace talks suggest a lack of will for peace. Now more than ever, the government should take all necessary steps to build confidence that its military forces are not amassing anywhere near the assembly points in southern Sudan. For President Museveni and other government officials to continue making hostile threats to the LRA will only ensure doom for peace in northern Uganda. Read more at The Monitor.

Acholi religious and cultural leaders have appealed to the LRA and Government delegations in Juba to resume peace talks. Anglican Bishop Nelson Onono Onweng said, "This is a disappointing development. The LRA and Government delegations have so far done very well by signing the cessation of hostilities agreement...The LRA and Government should know that all we want is peace. And that is what the people want. So any behavior contrary to bringing peace to northern Uganda is not acceptable." Read more at The New Vision.

The Ugandan army accused the LRA of violating a ceasefire on Wednesday, saying one of its leaders and his fighters had left an assembly point. But LRA deputy commander Vincent Otti denied this, reiterating his group's complaint that Ugandan soldiers were encircling the Owiny-Ki-Bul camp on the Sudan-Uganda border. Mediators said last week more than 800 fighters had gathered in the agreed areas though many, including the top commanders, remain at large. Read more at Reuters AlertNet.

In a critical piece of news, the Daily Monitor reports today that "[LRA top leader Joseph] Kony's presence at Ri-Kwangba [one of the two assembly points under the cessation truce] has been authenticated by the Cessation of Hostilities Monitoring Committee headed by Maj. Gen. Wilson Deng, an officer of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army." This is very positive news for the success of the cessation of hostilities agreement and the prospects for a true peace accord that can end this 20-year war.

Some Acholi leaders have accused President Museveni of violating the Juba peace talks agreement by using provocative and abusive language. Pader LC5 chairman Peter Odok W’Oceng cited Museveni’s remarks during his recent visit to the north. Odok said yesterday, "He (Museveni) called the LRA a terrorist outfit. Has the president become a spoiler of the peace process? He even stated that they would hunt the LRA and finish them up. Is he unaware of the LRA assembling in the agreed areas in Southern Sudan, awaiting the amicable conclusion of the peace talks?" He appealed to Museveni to stop his intention to spoil the peace talks in Juba in order to hunt Kony and kill our children and Southern Sudanese children now present in his (Kony’s) camp. Read more at The New Vision.

The LRA's second-in-command Vincent Otti yesterday strongly rejected claims by his negotiating team that the rebels had lost trust in government's lead negotiator, Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda. "It was really wrong," Otti said. "I don't know where they got that information and I don't know who has rejected Ruhakana Rugunda demanding for Amama Mbabazi; I don't know who and where they got that information." Otti yesterday strongly endorsed Rugunda's stewardship, along with the entire government delegation. This statement may vindicate the government's conviction that the LRA delegation is making its own political demands, and that their decisions may be suspect. Also yesterday, talks were expected to resume with the discussion of comprehensive solutions on the agenda. Otti, however, said that reports of a UPDF siege at Owiny-Ki-bul, one of two South Sudan assembly points, were being taken seriously and could hurt the future of negotiations.

Many victims mutilated by the LRA are now calling for forgiveness of LRA atrocities as a means to secure peace for northern Uganda. Constantine Onekalit, whose arm was hacked off 15 years ago by the LRA, said, "We have forgiven the LRA...We need the government to forgive them too because we need peace in northern Uganda. The war has cost so much." Read more at Reuters AlertNet.

LRA rebels with dreadlocks and AK-47s have been arriving to the assembly points in southern Sudan, expressing both optimism and nervousness about the prospects for peace. "Peace is coming soon," said one 36-year-old major. The landmark cessation of hostilities truce signed last month requires the rebels to gather in two points in south Sudan, while peace talks continue. Yet, while many rebels are optimistic, others remain worried. Many of the 800 or so LRA fighters and commanders gathered in the Owiny-Ki-Bul area say they are fearful Uganda's army (UPDF) is surrounding the area to launch an offensive in case peace talks fail. The army has dismissed the allegations. Yet it said on Monday it was prepared to hunt down rebels gathering on its borders if negotiations in Juba are unsuccessful. Mediators say deep suspicion persists on both sides. Read more at Reuters AlertNet.

The LRA delegation in Juba has said either Security Minister Amama Mbabazi and Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Kutesa would be the perfect replacement for Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, the current leader of the government delegation at peace talks. They had said Rugunda does not represent a solid constituency and lacks political credibility. Both Mbabazi and Kutesa have publicly made their contempt for the LRA rebels clear in the past. In response, the government has strongly rejected these LRA statements as inflammatory and provocative. Discussions between the delegations and chief mediator Dr. Riek Machar continued yesterday. Read more at The Daily Monitor.

Many of the LRA rebels who have arrived at assembly points in southern Sudan are heavily armed with new weaponry. The rebels have shown off bazookas, AK 47 assault rifles, grenades, and pistols, and some units are reported to have Katyusha Ballistic Missiles and heavy artillery. The LRA's sophisticated array of weaponry belies Ugandan government claims over the past several years that the LRA is an ill-equiped and disorganized group on the verge of collapse. Historically, the LRA has received much of its weaponry from the Government of Sudan, and despite official Sudanese proclamations that they have ended military aid to the LRA, reports as recent as January 2006 indicated that elements of the Sudanese military were still supplying the LRA with weapons. Read more at The Monitor.

Ruhakana Rugunda, the head of the Ugandan government delegation to the Juba peace talks, today called on LRA leaders to commit to the negotiations and refrain from threats to quit the talks. “The peace process has gained powerful momentum. No one should attempt to derail it,” he said. Yesterday the LRA's lead counsel called for Rugunda and the rest of the government to delegation to be replaced. He also accused the Ugandan military of deploying around LRA assembly points in southern Sudan, a charge the Ugandan government denied, and said the LRA would leave the talks if the troops were not withdrawn. Read more at The New Vision.

The LRA's lead counsel Ayena Adongo yesterday accused the Ugandan military of deploying troops around LRA assembly points in southern Sudan and said that the LRA would quit the Juba peace talks unless they were withdrawn. "As a precondition to resume peace negotiations, LRA demands an immediate withdrawal of (Ugandan army) troops that have besieged our troops," he said. Ugandan military spokesman Maj. Felix Kulayigye denied that UPDF troops were surrounding the assembly points, and accused the LRA of "looking for excuses to bolt out of the peace talks." Tensions between the LRA and the Ugandan government have heightened since September 12th, when a three-week-old ceasefire expired. Read more at Reuters AlertNet.

The lead counsel to the LRA's delegation to the Juba peace talks yesterday demanded that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni personally lead Uganda's delegation and replace the existing members as a precondition to further negotiations. The LRA's Ayena Adongo called Uganda's Internal Affairs Minister Ruhakana Rugunda and other members of Uganda's current delegation "intelligence officers who cannot make political decisions," and said, "We maintain that the delegation appointed by the regime in Kampala does not have the mandate to handle the issues in this critical stage of negotiation." Ugandan military spokesman Maj. Felix Kulayigye said that the LRA's demand for a new government delegation was unacceptable. Read more at The Monitor.

LRA commander Vincent Otti earlier this week accused the Government of South Sudan (GOSS), which has been mediating the Juba peace talks between the Ugandan government and LRA, of favoring the Ugandan government during the negotiations. Officials from both the LRA and the GOSS later said the dispute had been resolved. Read more at The Monitor.

Gladys Oroma, Uganda-CAN news correspondent, reports that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said Wednesday that the LRA should take the ongoing peace talks in Juba seriously, warning that this is the last chance for the rebel group to accept a peaceful resolution to the conflict. He said, "If the talks fail, then, we shall hunt these terrorists and finish them completely. Either they want peace or not, we shall continue with our war against them and finish them." Museveni also said that the Ugandan government would investigate accusations that UPDF commanders had failed to adequately protect civilians during the LRA rebellion.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said today that the Ugandan government will not ask the International Criminal Court (ICC) to revoke its indictments of top LRA leaders until a comprehensive peace agreement is signed. Museveni was responding to comments made yesterday by LRA commander Vincent Otti, who demanded that the lifting of ICC indictments be a precondition to the signing of a comprehensive peace agreement. Read more at The New Vision.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni today announced that he will attend the Juba peace talks and head the Ugandan government's negotiation team. His decision is evidence (hopefully) of the Ugandan government's commitment to a successful conclusion of the ongoing talks. Though the next round of negotiations was scheduled to start tomorrow, delays are expected because the LRA delegation is still conferring with LRA commanders camped near the border between Sudan and the DR Congo. Read more at The Daily Monitor.

The head of a team assigned to monitor the truce between the Ugandan government and LRA - which officially expired today - announced that LRA top leaders Joseph Kony and Vincent Otti have violated the truce by failing to appear at Ri-Kwangba, an assembly point in southern Sudan. However, Ruhakana Rugunda, the head of the government's peace delegation, said today that the government has agreed to continue respecting the terms of the truce. As many as 3,800 LRA rebels, including many women and children, have arrived at the two assembly points, and many believe Kony and Otti to be in the vicinity of Ri-Kwangba. Talks are scheduled to restart on Thursday, but may be delayed as the LRA delegation consults with top LRA leaders. Read more at The Monitor.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni will soon appoint a committee of lawyers, traditionalists, and prominent citizens to examine how the traditional Acholi justice and reconciliation processes of mato put can be used to satisfy demands for peace and justice in northern Uganda. LRA crimes would be recognized in mato put ceremonies, but ultimately rebels would be forgiven and reintegrated into Acholi society. Proponents of mato put argue that it would facilitate an end to impunity while still encouraging the LRA to agree to comprehensive peace and demobilization. Mato put is increasingly being considered as an alternative to the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for top LRA leaders, which have discouraged the LRA High Command from engaging in the peace process. Read more at The New Vision.

The Ugandan government has decided to indefinitely extend the three-week-old cessation of hostilities truce with LRA, which expired today. Although many LRA rebels are still in transit to safe zones in southern Sudan and the location of LRA leaders Joseph Kony and Vincent Otti is still unknown, the Ugandan government has been generally pleased with the progress of LRA rebels in holding to the terms of the truce. "We will discuss with the LRA team about the new deadline for the cessation of hostilities agreement," Interior Affairs Minister Ruhakana Rugunda said. "We need to be with a time frame so that things work out quickly." Read more at CNN.com.

With the three-week-old cessation of hostilities truce set to expire tomorrow, the next step in negotiations between the Ugandan government and LRA remains uncertain. Members of each delegation are scheduled to meet tomorrow to review the truce and discuss a possible extension. The Ugandan military - although ordered to refrain from offensive operations - has instructed all LRA rebels in transit to assembly points in southern Sudan to stay put until further ordered. It is also uncertain whether LRA leaders Joseph Kony and Vincent Otti will reveal themselves to the truce monitoring team as stipulated in the agreement. Otti has said that he and Kony will not reveal their positions until ICC arrest warrants for them are lifted, a move the ICC has refused to make. Reflecting the tensions created by the uncertainty, Otti today accused the Ugandan and South Sudanese governments of conspiring to delay the LRA delegation, and ordered LRA rebels to prepare to "disappear" if the peace talks falter. Read more at The Monitor.

Uganda's Defence Minister Ruth Nankabirwa today denied that LRA leaders Joseph Kony and Vincent Otti had arrived at assembly points in southern Sudan. Martin Ojul, the head of the LRA peace delegation, said yesterday that the two leaders had arrived at the Ri-Kwangba assembly point, a story that was widely reported yesterday and today. Nankabirwa also denied reports that 1,600 LRA rebels had assembled at the two safe zones, saying that the truce monitoring team had not confirmed the number. Tomorrow is the deadline for all LRA rebels to arrive at assembly points in southern Sudan in accordance with the cessation of hostilities truce signed between the Ugandan government and LRA in August. Read more at The New Vision.

Joseph Kony and Vincent Otti, the two senior leaders of the LRA, have arrived with about 1,600 other LRA rebels in safe zones in southern Sudan. Under the terms of cessations of hostilities truce signed between the LRA and the Ugandan government in August, all LRA rebels must have assembled in the safe zones by September 19th. Several groups of rebels are reportedly still traveling to the safe zones. Read more at The New Vision.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and the government delegation to the Juba peace talks will meet Monday to discuss the implications of the International Criminal Court's insistence that Uganda promptly arrest indicted LRA leaders. The ICC is preparing report on the progress made so far in the execution of the arrest warrants, maintaining that the arrest of Kony and his deputies is essential for their effective prosecution and prevention of further crimes. Museveni has offered the five indicted LRA leaders amnesty if they sign a comprehensive peace agreement, but the ICC's hardline stance continues to make continued LRA participation in the peace talks uncertain. Read more at The Monitor.

The International Criminal Court (ICC), which last October issued arrest warrants for five top LRA leaders on charges of crimes against humanity, said in a statement on Friday that the arrest of the indicted leaders is vital to ending impunity in northern Uganda. The ICC has retained a hardline stance on the arrest warrants, refusing to drop or suspend them despite the Ugandan government's offer of amnesty to the LRA leaders and LRA insistence that the arrest warrants are a stumbling block to the peace negotiations. Read more at The New Vision.

In a briefing to the UN Security Council on Friday UN humanitarian chief Jan Egeland said that 400 LRA rebels have assembled in safe zones in southern Sudan. Noting that the assembly of LRA rebels in the safe zones is a key element of the cessation of hostilities truce signed in August between the LRA and Ugandan government, Egeland urged the members of the UNSC to support the promising peace process. Read more at The New Vision.

Dr. Riek Machar, the mediator of the Juba peace talks, has proposed that the Ugandan government undertake wide-ranging reforms in order to ensure a comprehensive and sustainable peace in northern Uganda. In a document to be discussed Monday by delegations from the Ugandan government and LRA, Machar highlights the need for more equitable participation in national politics and institutions; the return, resettlement and rehabilitation of displaced persons; and sustained national reconstruction programmes and political re-integration of northern Ugandans. The document also urges reform of the Ugandan military, emphasizing the need for "correcting ethnic, gender and regional imbalances." Read more at The Monitor.

Jan Egeland, the UN humanitarian and emergency relief coordinator, said today that the UN Security Council should support the ongoing peace process between LRA rebels and the Ugandan government. "The council should show its support for the talks, and encourage the government and the LRA to reach a final agreement," Egeland said. "This is the best chance we have ever had for peace in northern Uganda." Egeland's support of the peace talks is a significant boost to their legitimacy and potential for success, which has been hampered by UN officials insisting that arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court against top LRA leaders be served immediately. Top LRA leaders have said that they will not leave hiding until the charges are dropped. Read more at Reuters AlertNet.

The LRA deputy commander Vincent Otti has expressed readiness to ask forgiveness for wrongs he has committed against his people in the Acholi sub-region. "If the people of my place forgive me and myself I have also said, I have done something wrong they should forgive me, and the mato put process has taken place, I think I can go home peacefully," Otti said. Otti says he will also be willing to subject himself to the Acholi justice system if a peace agreement is reached. Read more at The Monitor.

Reuters AlertNet raises an interesting question in an article this morning: Why would a resident of east London decide to spend months in the African bush defending one of the world's most reviled rebel groups? It's a question many have been asking of a mediating team for the LRA rebels mainly drawn from members of the Ugandan diaspora rather than commanders on the ground. Read Reuters AlertNet's interviews and analysis of the LRA delegation at peace talks.

The deputy LRA commander Vincent Otti has said that if by Monday nothing is done to extend the expiry date of the cessation of hostilities agreement, he would order all LRA fighters who have assembled in Owiny-Kibul to disperse. Otti said he does not want his fighters to be attacked unaware by the UPDF. Otti said even he and his boss, Joseph Kony, would leave Ri-Kangba by Monday if nothing is done by the Uganda government to extend the deadline of the cessation of hostilities. Otti further insisted that South Africa joins the government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) in mediating the talks. Read more at The New Vision.

The LRA has promised to sign a final agreement to end fighting in the north once peace talks with the government are concluded, but said its leaders would remain in hiding until ICC arrest warrants are lifted. "Our delegation will sign an agreement, but we shall stay where we are until the warrants are withdrawn," said Vincent Otti, LRA deputy commander, yesterday. He said that an amnesty offer from Ugandan President Museveni meant little as long as the ICC indictments remained in force. Otti also said he would participate in the talks if the government delegation and mediators met him in one of the assembly sites in southern Sudan where LRA fighters are gathering under a cessation of hostilities pact. Read more at the UN's IRIN News.

Gladys Oroma, Uganda-CAN news correspondent, reports that the LRA's second-in-command, Vincent Otti has issued a high-security warning to LRA fighters at assembly points in southern Sudan, telling them to be prepared for the expiry of the cessation of hostilities agreement on September 19. Otti warned his fighters to be alert as the UPDF have heavily deployed in southern Sudan and may attack the two bases should the deadline come to pass without a formal agreement in the Juba talks. Otti also ordered all the LRA commanders and fighters who are still inside Uganda to cross to quickly cross the border to Owiny-ki-bul from where they should wait for orders. The UPDF denied Otti's claim that they were heavily deployed near the assembly points. Otti said he is waiting for the LRA delegation and representatives of the Government of South Sudan to meet him there.

Tristan McConnell, Uganda correspondent for Africa Confidential, has written an article featured on OpenDemocracy.net, about the challenges of peace and justice in northern Uganda. He acknowledges that the wide-ranging sentiment among victims is that peace and return to their homes is paramount, yet he also identifies the need for accountability mechanisms to address gross atrocities. Read the full article at OpenDemocracy.net.

The LRA deputy commander Vincent Otti said on Wednesday that he would lead the LRA delegation in peace talks if the government came to meet him where rebels were assembling in southern Sudan. Otti, noting that the ICC remains a great obstacle, said he would lead his delegates. If true, this is a major breakthrough for the peace talks. Top LRA commanders have refused to attend the talks to date, fearing for their security. Read more at Reuters AlertNet.

Large numbers of LRA rebels continue to assemble in safe zones in southern Sudan, boosting hopes that the cessation of hostilities truce signed between the Ugandan government and LRA will hold. The assembly of LRA rebels at safe zones in Owiny Ki-Bul and Ri-Kwangba, demonstrating the LRA's commitment to the peace process and lessening the chance of confrontation between the LRA and civilians and military forces, is an essential element of the truce. Read more at The New Vision.

LRA deputy commander Vincent Otti today said he does not respect the idea of an expiry date for peace talks, two days after President Museveni’s deadline for the conclusion of the Juba talks elapsed. "If he [Mr Museveni] says the talks are expiring, I don’t know what he is saying. It may be expiring on their side but not on our side," Otti said. Otti’s comments came after the government hinted on relaxing its deadline expectations of the ongoing negotiations. The government delegation in Juba said it would talk with the LRA delegation to set a new deadline. Talks have been adjourned as both sides consult with their respective authorities. Read more at The Monitor.

The Ugandan government has dropped its deadline of September 12 for the conclusion of peace talks as LRA rebels continue to gather at assembly points as designated by the cessation of hostilities agreement. The government said such a deadline is now unnecessary. This came after the chief mediator Dr. Riek Machar announced that some rebels, including members of the LRA High Command, were reaching the assembly points in southern Sudan. Read more at the BBC News.

The LRA leader Joseph Kony and his deputy Vincent Otti have moved out of their hideout in DR Congo's Garamba National Park and camped close to Rii-Kwangba assembling point, the Chief Mediator Dr. Riek Machar has said. Machar announced today that the first group of LRA fighters has arrived at Rii-Kwangba and Owiny-ki-Bul, the two assembly points designated for the rebels under the terms of the recent truce. If these reports are true, they are a major boost to the ongoing peace initiative to end the 20-year war. Machar said a helicopter will airlift the LRA negotiators to Rii-Kwangba tomorrow afternoon to consult with Otti on the progress of the talks. Read more at The Monitor.

Internally-displaced people living in camps in Kitgum district are optimistic about the ongoing peace talks between the rebels and the government of Uganda. Local leaders in the district have said the talks are the best hope for lasting peace in northern Uganda, a region that has been caught up in armed conflict for the last 20 years. Read their quotes and analysis at The Monitor.

Peace talks between the Government of Uganda and LRA rebels have so far cost the Government of South Sudan (GoSS) some $657,000, a Juba treasury official has said. The bulk of the budget has gone into airlifting various delegations in and out of Juba, accommodation, renting space at Juba Raha Hotel, setting up a negotiations secretariat and hiring a fleet of vehicles that shuttle the LRA and government delegations. The official suggested that while the GoSS has not protested the huge financial burden, it welcomed co-financiers of the process. Sources say that the Netherlands government has already offered some help. Yet, the worry for the GOSS is that with a protracted process, the costs will obviously be much higher than earlier anticipated. Read more at The Monitor.

Kirunda Kivejinja, Uganda’s Third Deputy Premier, yesterday said that the government’s offer of amnesty to LRA leader Joseph Kony is conditional upon Kony’s surrender and the signing of a comprehensive peace agreement. He also said that the Ugandan government has never asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to revoke its arrest warrant for the rebel leader, although they would consider asking the ICC to accept local reconciliation mechanisms in place of a trial at The Hague if they are pleased with the outcome of the current peace talks. Earlier this week Kony said that he would not sign a comprehensive peace agreement until the ICC warrant for his arrest was revoked. Read more at The New Vision.

The LRA negotiating team in Juba has asked for a week off from negotiations to consult with their leader Joseph Kony. If they get their wish, the negotiators will head to DR Congo’s Garamba National Park where Kony and his deputy Vincent Otti currently reside. Asked if the team’s absence in Juba will delay the conclusion of a peace agreement, the LRA spokesman said, "We are still discussing either to send part of the delegation and the other remains behind consulting (with the government team) or go as a whole delegation but we have always preferred to go as a whole delegation." Read more at The Monitor.

Talks between the LRA and Ugandan government resumed on Wednesday night at Juba Raha Hotel in South Sudan. This morning, the delegations were expected to continue discussing the Cessation Hostilities Agreement implementation and commence talks on comprehensive solutions to the causes of the war, which included political participation and economic and social development of the north and east. However, the morning session flopped. The government team arrived at 11:15 AM but the LRA delegation was absent until the afternoon. They declined to talk to the press. Read more at The New Vision.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) will not act on "speculation" to revoke the indictments against the top leadership of the LRA, a spokesman for the ICC said yesterday. Christian Palme, the public information adviser to the Chief Prosecutor, said the ICC would not be rushed into revoking the indictments simply because the talks are expected to succeed. Yet, he asked that the Ugandan government continue to update the ICC on developments in the talks. A government spokesman said they will soon approach the ICC for a review of the charges in light of the peace talks. Read more at The Monitor.

Oroma Gladys, Uganda-CAN news correspondent, reports that the LRA second-in-command Lt. Gen. Vincent Otti has ordered his forces in northern Uganda to forget about waiting for government or SPLA escort, and to begin moving on foot to the assembly points in southern Sudan. Otti spoke on the MegaFM radio station in Gulu yesterday. Otti said he expects all commanders and fighters to have assembled on the periphery of the designated areas by the deadline of September 19th. He said, however, that the LRA would not gather deep inside Owiny-Kibul because they believe the area to be heavily mined.

It remains uncertain whether the LRA fighters will assemble at Owiny Ki-Bul and Ri-Kwangba in Sudan, the places designated in the Cessation of Hostilities agreement. The chief mediator Dr. Riek Machar and the Cessation of Hostilities Monitoring Team returned to Juba from Owiny Ki-Bul, where they spent four days without seeing any rebel. Yet, press reports have said that LRA fighters in northern Uganda were moving towards the assembly points. The LRA team in Juba has raised concerns that the assembly points could be mined. Read more at The New Vision.

The absence of the South Sudanese chief mediator Dr. Riek Machar in Juba has delayed the resumption of the third round of negotiations scheduled to start this week. Machar has for the fourth day camped at Owiny Ki-bul, one of the two assembly points for the rebels. Read more at The Sudan Tribune.

If the International Criminal Court (ICC) does not revoke the indictments against the LRA top leadership, Joseph Kony will not surrender or even sign a Comprehensive Peace Agreement with the government, the LRA second-in-command Vincent Otti said yesterday. And if Kony does not leave the bush, Otti added, no LRA rebel would do otherwise. Otti's comments came shortly before the resumption of peace talks in Juba. The government has consistently said it would convince the ICC to withdraw indictments, however the Chief Prosecutor has shown little sign the ICC will relent. The government was likely going to use a comprehensive peace agreement to convince the ICC to withdraw. Read more at The Monitor.

BBC News reports that LRA rebels are moving from their bases in northern Uganda in compliance with the cessation of hostilities agreement, Ugandan army officials say. The fighters are required to assemble in two camps in south Sudan two weeks from now. Some have already arrived in Sudan. The development is being seen as a positive sign that the ceasefire will hold. A third round of peace talks in Juba are set to resume today. Read more at the BBC News.

The LRA's fourth senior-most commander Dominic Ongwen yesterday met senior UPDF commanders and the northern Anglican archbishop at a crossroad point in Pader district for four hours, in what the army described as a "significant" occasion. Ongwen, who was trekking to Owiny-ki-bul, one of the assembly points in South Sudan, has been operating in Gulu and Pader. Maj. Felix Kulayigye said Ongwen called the UPDF's 509 Brigade requesting for food and permission to have local community leaders accompany him to meet other LRA fighters. Ongwen's requests were granted. Read more at The Monitor.

The government delegation arrived in Juba for the third round of peace talks with the LRA. The delegation travelled with two victims of LRA atrocities. Hellen Lanyom, whose lips were cut off and Constantino Onek Alit, whose right hand was chopped off, are meant to play an important role for the government side when the parties are discussing accountability and reconciliation. The LRA has over the years been notorious for cutting off lips and arms of its victims. The talks are expected to resume tomorrow, but the chief mediator Dr. Riek Machar is yet to return from Owiny Ki-bul where he went with the Cessation of Hostilities Monitoring Team (CHMT). Read more at The New Vision.

The President of the Government of South Sudan (GOSS) Salva Kiir has sent seven truckloads of food to LRA leader Joseph Kony, days after the LRA chief sent out a request for help. The consignment of mainly beans, posho, rice, oil and medicine, left Juba on Saturday for Nabanga, a border area between Sudan and the DR Congo. Meanwhile, Gulu District Chairman Nobert Mao said yesterday that Kony was busy consulting. "I have been in touch with Kony. He says he is consulting with his team on how to move to South Sudan," Mao said. Mao and a team of MPs are scheduled to travel to visit Kony for a second time this week.

Top LRA commanders Dominic Ongwen and Thomas Kwoyelo have communicated to the UPDF their inability to cross rivers that have burst their banks on their way to Owiny-Kibul in Southern Sudan. The UPDF is going to review these passages and identify some bridges that the rebels can use to cross the rivers. Meanwhile, the army has information indicating that Kony will be Owiny-Kibul, one of the two assembly points, by next Sunday. Read more at The New Vision.

The Uganda People’s Defence Forces has offered transport, including a helicopter, to LRA rebels and their families, to speed up their movement to the designated safe zones in southern Sudan. Internal Affairs Minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda said the government had also provided communication gadgets to ensure contact among the rebels. He pointed out that the Ugandan team that is monitoring the peace accord had confirmed that the LRA had started moving towards the agreed assembly areas. Read more at The New Vision.

President Museveni is expected to pitch camp in northern Uganda this month, in what officials have described as an attempt to bolster the people's confidence in the government's capacity to protect them. Museveni made the gesture on Thursday night, at a closed meeting he held with a delegation of leaders from Acholi, Lango and Teso sub regions. Read more at The Monitor.

Gladys Oroma, Uganda-CAN news correspondent, reports that the Ugandan army is claiming that LRA rebels have abused the cessation of hostilities agreement by abducting two civilians in Amuru district. The northern region army spokesman, Lt. Chris Magezi said that three armed rebels on Thursday afternoon abducted two people. Magezi said the LRA must demonstrate its seriousness and stop all attacks on civilians. One of the two people abducted was released later. This comes after LRA leader Joseph Kony accused the UPDF of violating the truce by attacking his forces in Pader District.