Reuters is reporting that gunmen still have 55 children in captivity that were abducted during raids on villages in Central African Republic. Some 300 armed men attacked the four villages between between Feb. 19 and March 10, abducting more than 150 people. They were tied with ropes at the hips and forced to carry away stolen food and supplies. Nearly 40 people have been released by the fighters, many of the women reporting they had been gang-raped. Local authorities are blaming a group of LRA rebels that have reportedly moved to the area. However, after allegations of LRA attacks in southern Sudan were recently dismissed, we should be cautious about accusations. Nevertheless, an unofficial UN report issued earlier Friday said that the atrocities "bear all the hallmarks of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA)."

A feature in yesterday’s edition of The Monitor highlights the ongoing insecurity and humanitarian crisis in Uganda’s Karamoja region. The latest UN figures show that less than 1 in 10 Karamojong have food security, while more than half are experiencing an acute food and livelihood crisis. However, neither the Ugandan government nor the international community has responded adequately to provide emergency relief, strengthen faltering livelihoods or support local peacebuilding efforts. Reflecting on decades of political, cultural and economic marginalization, local leader Samson Lokeris asks, “Is Karamoja not part of Uganda?” Read more at The Monitor.

The Ugandan military announced last week that it has seized a massive cache of illegal weapons and ammunition in the northwestern region of West Nile. Thousands of sub-machine guns, as well as grenades and mines, were captured in two different operations by security and intelligence agencies this month. Though a peace deal with UNRF II rebels in 2002 reduced insecurity in West Nile, its proximity to unstable regions in northern Uganda, southern Sudan and eastern DR Congo have made it a prime route for the thriving illegal arms trade in the region. Read more at The New Vision.

The US State Department released its 2007 Uganda human rights report this week, part of a series of reports mandated by the US Congress on country-specific human rights situations around the world. The Uganda brief says that security and human rights conditions have “improved significantly,” but that the Ugandan government’s human rights record “remained poor.” The report finds that no LRA abductions or killings occurred in the north last year, though unlawful killings and other abuses by military forces (often not held accountable) continued. Continued drought, insecurity and human rights abuses have displaced over 700,000 people in Karamoja. One of the report’s most shocking findings is the impunity perpetrators of gender-based violence enjoy – women and girls fear reporting rape and abuse, and many cases which do get brought to court remain unresolved. A disturbingly high rate of harassment and abuse of independent journalists and opposition politicians also occurred throughout the country. Read the full Uganda brief here.

A study released last week by the Justice and Reconciliation Project and Quaker Peace and Social Witness highlights the need for a more effective DDR strategy for ex-LRA combatants. It argues that disarmament, demobilization and reintegration efforts must take into account questions of justice, reconciliation, gender and livelihood of lower-level LRA. The report examines the unique challenges that formerly-abducted girls and women who return from captivity with children face. It also highlights the effects that community stigma, preferential treatment of former LRA commanders and inadequate reintegration support have on the ability of formerly-abducted combatants to rebuild their lives. Read the full report and recommendations here.

According to The New Vision, the Ugandan army is reporting a skirmish between their troops and a group of about 30 LRA rebels in eastern Equatoria, southern Sudan. The fighting reportedly took place on Tuesday evening near the former LRA camp of Rubangatek, about 75 kilometres from the Ugandan border. One UPDF soldier was killed. This is clearly a violation of the cessation of hostilities, but it is unclear whether the skirmish was accidental or planned. Nevertheless, it adds to fears that the rebels will not come out of the "bush" even if a final peace agreement is signed.