The Monitor reports that the failure by a group of visiting American editors to travel to war-affected northern Uganda has angered leaders in the region who accuse the senior foreign journalists of ignoring the ruinous effects of the 22-year war. "We are disappointed with the delegation from major US publications that have deliberately chosen not to travel to northern Uganda," Gulu District Chairman Norbert Mao said, "By not going to the north, they [American journalists] are perpetuating the conspiracy of silence [by the government] on the suffering of the people in the north." Media publications represented include the Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Congressional Quarterly, the BBC, Oprah Magazine, Yahoo, Rocky Mountain News, Newsweek International, National Geographic and Business Week.

The UN’s latest brief on displacement and population movements in eastern DR Congo notes an “upsurge” of LRA activity in the northeastern region in recent months. Attacks by LRA and Mayi-Mayi rebels there caused the displacement of 47,000 persons in 2007, and the brief notes that continued LRA activity and the potential deployment of the Congolese national army (FARDC) could cause further displacement. Read the full brief here.

The UN news agency IRIN yesterday released a concise guide to armed groups operating in Central African Republic (CAR). The list includes the national military and presidential guard, international and regional peacekeepers and police, and rebels and bandits in northern CAR. Beyond the groups IRIN lists, France maintains a contingent of national forces operating mostly in the capital of Bangui, and armed groups from Chad, Libya and Sudan have been active in the country in recent history. In addition to this volatile mix, LRA rebels are widely thought to be responsible for attacks on civilians in southeast CAR in recent months. Read more at IRIN.

The ENOUGH Project has released its latest report, titled "A New Strategy for Peace in Northern Uganda and the LRA." They write, "LRA leader Joseph Kony’s failure to sign a peace deal in April drove a nail into the coffin of the Juba peace process—a process that is grinding to an unsuccessful end. The talks have certainly contributed to northern Uganda’s current state of relative peace and created a mechanism to address tensions between the people in the North and the southern-dominated government in Kampala. But without real leverage and without a direct channel of negotiations to Kony himself, the LRA leader has exploited this last year of negotiations..."

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The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has renewed calls for international efforts to arrest LRA leader Joseph Kony and two other commanders indicted by the court for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Speaking at a conference in Chicago recently, Luis Moreno-Ocampo said that if Kony is arrested, “we will have peace tomorrow”. He also recently criticized the peace talks, saying, "all negotiations did was lead to impunity.” In addition, Ocampo maintained that UN peacekeepers in the DR Congo could be equipped with "special forces" able to arrest the indicted commanders. Read more at IWPR.

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In a resolution extending the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force in Sudan (UNMIS), the UN Security Council yesterday expressed support for ongoing efforts to mediate a peaceful resolution of the conflict between the LRA and Ugandan government. The Council also urged the UNMIS to play a role in implementing a final peace agreement between the two parties should one be signed. The resolution echoed UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s April 2008 report on Sudan, in which he urged “all parties to address the remaining concerns and enable the conclusion of an agreement that will provide the basis for a lasting peace with justice and support development in Northern Uganda.”

Both the Council resolution and the SG report also express concern over insecurity caused by the LRA in south Sudan and hint at the military and protection of civilians role UNMIS might play should the peace talks break down and LRA attacks on civilians continue. The SG report noted that those responsible for LRA attacks in south Sudan in recent months seem to be mid-ranking commanders acting independently of the central command. It also highlighted the need for greater regional cooperation between UNMIS and UN peacekeepers in the DR Congo in regards to the LRA.