The Monitor has published an editorial urging caution and warning against actions that might disrupt the Juba peace process. They write, "For the first time in more than 21 years representatives from the rebel Lords Resistance Army are in Kampala to consult with Ugandans and most importantly meet leaders here on how best to advance the fragile peace talks to end war in the north...In 20 years of a sustained military campaign and several failed attempts at peace talks, the current round of peace talks offers the biggest ray of hope."

The LRA representatives announced today that they will participate in a historic meeting with President Museveni in Kampala on Thursday. The LRA delegation will discuss efforts to revive the lagging peace talks and from there will embark on a six week tour of Uganda to hold consultations with civilians and civil society about issues related to the talks. Formal negotiations between the LRA and Ugandan government are expected to resume following LRA consultations. Read more at The New Vision.

The LRA rebels are denying speculation that Vincent Otti, their second-in-command, is dead. Speaking on Voice of America, LRA delegation technical advisor David Matsanga said that speculation about an alleged LRA split is aimed at undermining the peace process. He further said that reports that UN special envoy Joaquim Chissano did not meet with the LRA High Command are untrue. Matsanga said the rebels remain committed to the peace process.

Two active commanders of the LRA, emissaries of LRA leader Joseph Kony, have arrived at Entebbe International Airport and were warmly received by government officials. The emissaries, Ray Achama and Mike Anywar, are in Kampala to consult with the government on the progress of the Juba talks. This is the first time Kony is sending his commanders to Kampala for talks with the government. It is hoped a visit by the rebel commanders in Kampala and later Gulu will give a boost to the on-and-off talks. Read more at The Monitor.

The Monitor is reporting that the fate of LRA's second-in-command, Vincent Otti, remains a mystery after an alleged fight between him and LRA leader Joseph Kony last week. Kony's signaller, Labal Piny, is reportedly in possession of Otti's satellite phone set. UN special envoy Joaquim Chissano, who traveled to meet the rebels this week, was told Otti is sick with cholera. No verifiable information is currently available as to what may have sparked the disagreement between the rebel leaders. Meanwhile, the LRA delegation to the peace talks has vehemently denied that there is any split within the rebel ranks. The LRA delegation has also promised to come to Uganda this week for long delayed "consultations" on the third agenda item of the Juba talks: accountability and reconciliation.

Former LRA senior commander, Opio Makasi, is expected to be flown to Kampala by the United Nations on Tuesday, officials have said. The New Vision originally broke the story of Makasi's defection to UN forces in Congo last week. Makasi will be taken to Beni, for documentation at Uganda's Amnesty Commission offices before being flown to Kampala, security sources said. Read more at The Monitor.

LRA commander Opiyo Makasi, who surrendered to UN peacekeepers (MONUC) last week with his “wife” and child, has been transferred back to MONUC after a brief detention by the Congolese government in Kinshasa. Ugandan government officials said Makasi would soon be transferred to their authority and able to undergo a reintegration process. Read more at The Monitor.

Ironically, Ugandan officials announced today that Onen Kamudulu, an LRA commander who was replaced by Makasi after surrendering himself in 2004, has been arrested in Uganda on charges of armed robbery. Authorities allege that Kamudulu, supposed to have begun reintegration into civilian life, has been operating with an armed robbery gang in northern Uganda. If the charges are upheld, Kamudulu’s experience is reminder that support for ex-rebels, a strengthened civilian police force and judiciary and wider community development is crucial to providing a ‘peace dividend’ in the north. Without such initiatives, northern Ugandans will continue to face internal security threats – from Karamojong cattle raiders, armed criminals, former militia members and the UPDF – even if the LRA rebellion comes to a halt.

LRA rebels in the DR Congo and South Sudan failed to meet with UN special envoy Joaquim Chissano, claiming that commander Vincent Otti has cholera. However, recent reports of infighting between rebel factions loyal to Otti and leader Joseph Kony raise concerns that internal divisions are behind the decision to avoid meeting Chissano. Read more at The Monitor.

LRA spokesman Godfrey Ayoo denied recent reports that there has been a split between LRA leader Joseph Kony and his deputy Vincent Otti, saying that, "The movement is solid." Another senior LRA commander, Opiyo Makasi, remains in the custody of the Congolese government in Kinshasa after reportedly surrendering to UN peacekeepers (MONUC). Ugandan government officials expressed concern that they have not been allowed to access Makasi yet. They are hoping to gain intelligence on the LRA from him, as well as allow him to reintegrate into Ugandan society. Read more at BBC News.

Gulu District Chairman Norbert Mao writes in today's New Vision that "rumors about the LRA split shouldn't derail the Juba peace talks." He reports that the LRA senior commander Opio Masaki "stumbled upon a MONUC patrol," who disarmed him and handed him over to Congolese forces. Mao says that reports of other senior-level commanders defecting remain unconfirmed. He writes, "The circumstances demand a unified focus rather than finger-pointing and rumour-mongering. (UN Special Envoy) Chissano is due to travel to Ri Kwangba to meet the LRA. He should be allowed to take charge of the situation." Mao argues, "In view of the current Juba Talks, encouraging defection in the ranks of the LRA would only undermine confidence in the talks. The government would be ill-advised to think that talking different languages to different factions will yield durable peace."

Local leaders in northern Uganda are urging the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Joseph Kabila, to refrain from violence when trying to remove the LRA from their base in Garamba National Park. Cultural, religious and civic leaders in northern Uganda want an urgent meeting with Kabila to persuade him to avoid recent military arrangements with Kampala and instead use his influence and contacts to persuade the rebels to abandon the national park for Ri-Kwanga assembly site. Meanwhile, local leaders are also set to hold talks with Sudanese president Omar el-Bashir to urge him to directly support the Juba peace talks. Read more at IWPR.

Today’s New Vision reports that LRA factions loyal to LRA leader Joseph Kony clashed with those siding with second-in-command Vincent Otti last week, possibly leaving two wounded. Kony’s forces are said to be in control at the moment. The fighting is believed to have followed a disagreement on the future of the Juba peace talks and the $600,000 set aside for LRA consultations on justice and reconciliation. Though little is know about internal LRA leadership dynamics, Vincent Otti has emerged as the more visible and vocal of the two since the peace talks began last year, while Kony has remained somewhat reclusive. In another development, Opio Makasi, one of the senior commanders of the LRA indicted by the ICC, has reportedly been imprisoned in the Congolese capital Kinshasa. Stay tuned to the blog for more updates.

Ugandan and Congolese military officials met this week to discuss details of plans to coordinate regional military action against rebels in eastern DR Congo, including the LRA. The sides agreed that, "a meeting be held not later than November 20 to establish an acceptable mechanism in order to execute coordinated operations between UPDF and the Congolese army, supported by MONUC (UN peacekeepers), against Ugandan dissidents operating in eastern DRC." Read more at The New Vision.

Northern Ugandan religious, political and cultural leaders announced today that President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan has invited them to Khartoum to discuss the prospects of the Juba peace talks. Meanwhile, the Sudanese ambassador to Uganda said that the decision of South Sudan’s main party (SPLM) to suspend participation in the national unity government last week will not affect the Sudanese government’s support for the Juba talks. Read more at The New Vision.

Speaking on Voice of America, the chief mediator at the Juba peace talks, Riek Machar, is hopeful that negotiations can resume soon. Machar said the groundwork is set for the LRA to begin their consultations. Machar further reported, "We also decided that it may be best if the LRA is accompanied by some of the AU (African Union) observers to the peace talks." Machar said he is confident the rebels would finish their consultation in time for the recommencement of the next round of peace talks. There is hope that will be the end of October.

The Ugandan Chief of Defence Forces said on Sunday that the army will pursue the LRA rebels if they fail to sign the peace agreement with the Government in Juba. Gen. Aronda Nyakairima also said the UPDF had already started putting in place a process of reconciliation for the LRA rebels. He also noted that the UPDF had passed out 77 fighters from the LRA and integrated them into the army at a recent ceremony. Read more at The New Vision.

The LRA warned over the weekend that denying them hundreds of thousands of dollars to hold a public consultation exercise may unravel the Juba peace talks. Plans to seek delegates for a forum on the peace process failed to go ahead on October 1 as intended because funds were blocked, said LRA spokesman Godfrey Ayoo. "Donors and UN office in Juba bears full responsibility for the delay. We are urging them to act fast and provide resources so that we can hold our meeting," Ayoo said. Read more at AFP.

Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, Uganda's top negotiator in the Juba peace talks, has said the LRA must disarm, demobilise, deal seriously with issues of impunity from war crimes and sign a final peace deal before there can be any serious approach from the Kampala government to the ICC’s chief prosecutor to drop existing indictments. "There shall be no blanket amnesty to the indicted LRA commanders," Rugunda said. "The LRA commanders have to undergo accountability. The accountability will be done in accordance with both Uganda’s formal national laws and with traditional [ethnic] policies that have been used to resolve conflicts." Read more at the Institute for War & Peace Reporting.

Contradicting earlier news reports today, LRA spokesman Godfrey Ayoo said that the LRA delegation to the Juba peace talks will not be visiting Kampala this week. The delegation was supposedly scheduled to visit Uganda’s capital and meet with President Yoweri Museveni, but Ayoo said, "The claims that we are visiting Kampala are false and just a ploy by a government seeking to gain political capital over the matter." Ayoo also said that the delegation had not finalized dates for a tour of war-affected areas in northern Uganda yet. Read more at BBC.

Members of the LRA negotiating team in Juba plan to visit Uganda for the first time and are expected to meet President Museveni. The visit to the capital, Kampala would be the first leg of a weeklong visit beginning today that will also take the team to war-affected areas in Gulu and Lira districts. "On Thursday the LRA delegation will travel to Kampala," said South Sudan President Salva Kiir. "Even the Ugandans could not believe that these people can set foot there." Read more at The Monitor.

The Ugandan government has said that LRA leader Joseph Kony will not get the death sentence when he faces trial for crimes committed during the two decades war in the North. The chief government negotiator, Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, said reconciliation would be the overriding factor when implementing the comprehensive peace agreement. "While sentencing, we should bear in mind reconciliation. Therefore the death sentence should not be countenanced," he said last week. Important for the Government, Rugunda stressed, was that the outcome would satisfy the victims first, the people of Uganda second and the international community last. The minister was reacting to a report by Human Rights Watch, which demanded for the death penalty to be scrapped in Uganda if the LRA rebels were to be tried by national courts. Read more at The New Vision.

President Museveni has applauded the victims of the 20-year insurgency in northern Uganda for their seeming willingness to forgive LRA rebels. "I am told the victims in this area are ready to forgive these people [rebels] who committed various atrocities against them. I was worried the people would take the law in their hands when they [rebels] return [home]," Museveni said on Saturday. "I hope Kony and his group will use the chance of peace talks," he said. The president is currently on a tour of the war-torn region to explain his 14-point recovery programme that includes elimination of terrorism, construction of roads, education, micro-finance projects, industrialisation and health. Read more at The Monitor.