Some human rights organisations have criticised the recent deal between the Ugandan and Congolese presidents to flush out the LRA in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Christopher Hall, senior legal advisor at Amnesty International’s international justice project, describes the landmark agreement between Museveni and Kabila as a "recipe for impunity." Amnesty believes the two leaders should instead be concentrating on their obligations to deliver to The Hague four LRA commanders indicted by the International Criminal Court. Others however argue that the deal threatens the Juba peace talks that have already made progress toward a comprehensive agreement. Archbishop John Baptist Odama, chairperson of the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative said, "It’s an unfortunate agreement. The agreement jeopardises the trust put on the peace talks...If the peace talks succeed, it will be victory for IDPs, the LRA, Uganda, South Sudan, Congo, Africa and the whole world. The hope of the people lies on the talks." Read more at IWPR.

Uganda’s government has assured affected-communities of the 21-year conflict that it is determined to find lasting peace so that the displaced would return to their villages. The assurance followed a report by Oxfam that victims of the war doubt the ongoing peace talks between the government and the LRA will bring lasting peace to northern Uganda. Speaking on Voice of America, Ruhakana Rugunda, leader of the government negotiating team, said that the government would do everything in its power to bring about peace. "For the population who have lived under the insurgency and in the camps for quite some time now, their skepticism and doubts are understandable...But I want to assure them that the peace proves is on course and that the question of going back to armed conflict is out," Rugunda said. He further said the recent agreement signed between Uganda and DR Congo should have little effect on the peace talks with the LRA rebels.

The Ugandan government has asked the former leader of the National Rescue Front II, Maj. Gen. Ali Bamuze, to meet the LRA top commanders as part of confidence-building measures aimed at bolstering the Juba peace talks. The Government’s chief negotiator, Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, said on Wednesday that Bamuze had an "enormous wealth of experience" to share with LRA leader Joseph Kony and his fighters. UNRF II was a rebel group fighting against the government in West Nile until 2002 when a peace agreement was reached. The agreement gave the rebels amnesty, while offering them reintegration support and military positions with the UPDF. Read more at The New Vision.

Oxfam released a new study today, showing that most of the internally-displaced people in northern Uganda are skeptical that ongoing peace talks in Juba will bring lasting peace. Though 57% said that security had improved since the start of peace talks and 60.5% were hopeful that conditions would improve further, people still remain highly skeptical. Some 85% of respondents agreed that achieving a formal peace agreement was the most important challenge that had to be tackled for peace to prevail. The vast majority of focus group respondents felt they were not adequately informed or consulted about the peace process and feared that the commitment of the negotiating parties might not last until a successful end of the negotiations. Furthermore, the report emphasizes that sustainable peace will require improving security, engaging more robustly with communities affected by the conflict and scaling up resettlement and essential services assistance.

Threats by the LRA rebels that they will launch attacks in northern Uganda if their bases in DR Congo are attacked are causing tension in the north. The Lira resident district commissioner, Joan Pachoto, on Monday told the Government chief negotiator, Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, that she had to call a security meeting last week to calm the growing fears. Rugunda however said the peace process is "irreversible." Rugunda said a new force comprising of the Police, local administration law enforcement officers, militia and the UPDF would be on ground to ensure that peace prevails. Read more at The New Vision.

The Ugandan army has said that the LRA is violating the terms of a truce deal it signed with the Government by being in neighbouring DR Congo. This comes after the rebels vowed to resume war in Uganda if attacked in Congo. UPDF spokesman, Maj. Felix Kulayigye, said according to the Cessation of Hostilities deal reached at the peace talks, LRA fighters were meant to have left Congo months ago and assembled at Ri-Kwangba in South Sudan. Read more at The New Vision.

The LRA has warned that any attacks on its bases in eastern Congo will be an invitation to resume war in northern Uganda. "Any attack on our military positions by forces of the NRM or any armed groups allied to the Uganda dictatorship shall be strictly treated as a declaration of war, resumption of war and above all an invitation to bring war back to Uganda," LRA spokesman Godfrey Ayoo said this week. The LRA was reacting to an agreement signed last Saturday between President Museveni and his Congolese counterpart to stamp out the 'negative forces' in eastern Congo, including the LRA. Ayoo said the pact violated the cessation of hostilities agreement and the spirit of the ongoing peace talks. Ayoo also attacked U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Jendayi Frazer, who declared last week that the talks could not last forever. "The LRA rejects the U.S. administration's arrogant call for a deadline. What does the U.S. administration want? Peace or war?" Read more at The New Vision.

The Ugandan government is reportedly strongly considering the establishment of a special war crimes court to try the top leaders of the LRA as an alternative to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, Uganda’s internal affairs minister, who is the lead government negotiator at peace talks in Juba, said that a final decision on the formation of a special court will be taken after consultations with victims of the war are finished. "We have discussed this issue with legal experts - local and international - and there is a possibility of government forming a unique legal system designed to achieve lasting peace and accountability," Rugunda said. Read more at the Institute for War & Peace Reporting.

The Director for International Cooperation at the International Criminal Court (ICC) today called on Uganda, DR Congo and Sudan to arrest four commanders of the LRA indicted by the international court on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Beatrice Le Fraper du Hellen also said that the LRA should be cut off from its financial and supply networks. Though she stated that pursuing peace and justice in northern Uganda is not contradictory, a move to immediately arrest the indicted leaders would be sure to disrupt the ongoing Juba peace talks. The LRA and Ugandan government are currently holding consultations on justice and reconciliation in an effort to find a domestic alternative to the ICC. Recent reports detailing northern Ugandan views of justice and reconciliation show strong support for holding both the LRA and Ugandan government accountable for crimes, but reveal clear priorities on peace, returning home and improving failing health and educational systems. Read more at The Monitor.

Relatives of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) spokesman at the Juba talks, Lt. Geoffrey Ayo, have sent him a confidential letter asking him to be committed to the talks. Details of the letter were not revealed butDr. Ruhakana Rugunda, the head of government delegation and the internal affairs minister, described it as a sign of confidence building to the all players in those in Juba. Read more at The New Vision.

The LRA has reacted with shock and dismay at suggestions that President Museveni is aligning himself with neighboring countries to launch a pre-emptive strike against rebel positions. This comes after President Museveni reportedly met with the President’s of Congo and the Central African Republic. David Matsanga, technical advisor to the LRA said, "Every time when the Ugandan government sees that peace is about to return to northern Uganda, the Ugandan government brings scapegoats and its uses all exits and all malice from all angles to make sure that the peace process collapses." He continued, "If President Museveni wants to align with the Central African Republic and Congo to attack the LRA, that is very regretful, unforgivable crime against the humanity of the people of northern Uganda in particular." Read the full interview at Voice of America.

The Ugandan government has strongly criticised a United Nations report that quotes civilians in the north of the country as blaming the army as well as rebel forces for causing casualties in 21-year conflict. The UN report, issued on August 14, which gathered the views of 1,725 northerners, showed that many felt that not just LRA leader Joseph Kony, but also President Yoweri Museveni, were responsible for the war. Many of those interviewed said atrocities were committed by both rebels and army troops. "I can't waste my time commenting on such an empty report. The report is empty and baseless," Ruth Nankabirwa, Uganda's state minister for defence, said. "My government has not committed any crimes in the north. How then can that report compare atrocities committed by LRA to my government?" Read more here.

Peter Kagwanja and Manasseh Wepundi of the Africa Policy Institute have written that the "Uganda peace process needs a regional stamp." They write, "The regional spread of the northern Uganda conflict calls for a strong involvement by regional players to effectively deal with issues of accountability, justice and reconciliation." The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) operates now in southern Sudan's Equatoria region, eastern DR Congo, and possibly even the Central African Republic. They thus argue, "In a sense, Uganda is increasingly being drawn into a four-way proxy war involving the CAR, Chad, the Darfur rebels and Khartoum." The authors urge the AU to play a more active role in the peace process. Further, they argue, "IGAD and the East African community - now comprising Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi — have an opportunity to make a mark on the northern Uganda peace process by helping fashion a transitional justice mechanism that will secure the north for refugees and IDPs to return." Read more at The East African.