ReliefWeb reports that the Sudanese government is determined to defeat the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Sudan's special presidential envoy Deng Alor Kuol said on Friday that his country was determined to finish off Ugandan rebel (LRA) leader Joseph Kony, according to Ugandan government radio.

Kuol, who is also minister of cabinet affairs in the Sudanese government, made the remarks when delivering here a special message from President Omar Hassan El Bashir to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. Read more here.

The SudanTribune reports that LRA activities are preventing the safe delivery of emergency assistance to Sudan's recovering southern region. LRA Tactics have shifted in Sudan to attacks on roads, aid workers, and the more densely populated western half of the southern region.

Stans Yatta, a southern Sudanese government representative, estimated LRA numbers in southern Sudan to be approximately 4,000. "The LRA are a sickness to us in southern Sudan ... Their numbers are increasing day-by-day because they are abducting children," he said.

The United States Senate last Friday passed the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act (S.1462), while the House version of the bill remains in committee awaiting action. Though the focus of the bill is on the genocide taking place int he Darfur region of western Sudan, it also emphasizes the interrelated nature of the LRA crisis.

The bill includes language urging President Bush to appoint a Presidential Envoy to Sudan that can work not only on gaining peace in Darfur and southern Sudan, but also with the government of Uganda to deal effectively with the LRA. It further calls on the Sudan Peoples' Liberation Army in southern Sudan to engage the LRA immediately.

The bill, if passed in its present form, would also concretely extend current sanctions against the Sudanese government until it is demonstrated that they have fully ended their support for the LRA, which is currently taking place in the form of providing safe haven and resources, and are collaborating in expelling the LRA from Sudan.

Join Uganda-CAN's December 13 call-in day to urge your Representative in the House to include similar provisions for northern Uganda in the House version of the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, H.R. 3127!

President Museveni this past weekend accepted the nomination from his political party, the National Resistance Movement, to stand for another five years as President. In his speech,Museveni layed out an ambitious plan for his potential next five years in office. In it, however, he made not one mention of northern Uganda, reports the New Vision.

The population in northern Uganda has been victimized by two decades of armed conflict. The AIDS rate is three times the national average, more than a quarter of children are not attending primary school, and little productive economy exists. With so many needs to be addressed, Museveni's neglect of the North in his speech--mirrored in his wider trends while in office--is criminal.

The BBC News Service reports that at least 12 people have been killed in northern Uganda during an ambush by suspected rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). The attackers shot at a minibus full of people in broad daylight as it approached the town of Pader. The minibus was set ablaze and as the passengers tried to escape from the burning vehicle, they were attacked.

While the Government of Uganda (GOU) has proclaimed the rebels defeated, recent ambushes by the LRA are proving that they can still cause misery in northern Uganda. Today's ambush follows a similar attack on Friday, when a truck carrying traditional dancers was ambushed and at least five people died.

Uganda-CAN condemns these attacks, while calling on the GOU to take seriously its responsibility to protect its citizens in the north. If the government lacks the capacity to fulfill this responsibility, it should invite the United Nations and international community to provide support for civilian protection and humanitarian relief.

President Yoweri Museveni confirmed on Saturday that he would run for re-election next year, seeking to extend two decades in power that many critics say have become increasingly autocratic. With his top opponent Kizza Besigye waiting for a bail hearing on Thursday, Museveni finally broke his silence on Saturday about whether he wanted to run for office again. Read more at Reuters.

Today, Sunday the 20th of November, is Universal Children's Day.

As kids in America and most places around the world sleep soundly in beds under their parents' roofs, thousands of youngsters in northern Uganda are walking miles every night to sleep on streets and sidewalks, fleeing from the terror of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army. Amnesty International released a report to mark the occasion.

When will the world wake up to their suffering, and respond?

The Daily Monitor reports that LRA rebels killed nine people yesterday in a roadside ambush in Pader district. They were part of a cultural dance group travelling through Pader by lorry. Several more sustained serious injuries, and the death toll will likely increase.

The US has called on the Ugandan government to ensure that Col. Kizza Besigye is given a fair trial that ends well before the presidential elections slated for next February. Besigye, leader of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) and likely Museveni's primary challenger in the elections, was arrested on Monday on charges of treason and rape. Opposition members claim that arrest has purely political motivations, noting that Besigye is mounting the biggest ever challenge to Museveni's 19-year rule. Read more at MSNBC.com.

Also, the Daily Vision reports that two parlementarians, both leading members of the FDC, will be tried beginning on November 21st for murder. Reagan Okumu (Aswa) and Michael Nyeko Ocula (Kilak) were arrested in April on murder charges and were released on bail. Many members of opposition parties claim that these charges are also political in nature.

Rioting in Kampala continues today in the wake of Rtd. Col. Kizza Besigye's arrest yesterday. Reports from Uganda-CAN's staff and volunteers in Kampala suggest gunshots and destruction continue on the streets. To read more about the arrest of Besigye, click here. To see photos of the rioting in Kampala from the BBC News Service, click here.

Uganda-CAN condemns any violence used by protestors or the state; nonetheless, we believe this unrest shows the deep need for transparency and political reconciliation throughout Uganda.

Today's Daily Monitor reports that LRA rebels are suspected in the death of two Local Defence Unit (LDU) soldiers in Pader district yesterday. LDUs are civilian groups armed by the Ugandan government to help maintain security in northern Uganda and have been a frequent target of LRA attacks for over a decade.

Two editorials carried by Allafrica.com accuse Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni of mishandling the war in northern Uganda. The first editorial deplores the suffering prevalent in the IDP camps and reflects on the possibility of further armed uprisings against the Ugandan government if the suffering continues.

The second editorial comments on corruption within the Ugandan government and military, fears for land security in northern Uganda, and the Northern Uganda Recovery and Development Programme - which has so far proven to be ineffective.

Note: The views of the authors do not necessarily represent those of Uganda-CAN.

The Daily Monitor reports that in the wake of Rtd. Col. Kizza Besigye arrest, riots have erupted in Central Kampala. Clouds of thick smoke were visible in the area stretching from the Central Police Station to the Old Taxi Park as riot police fired tear gas canisters to ward off supporters of Dr. Kizza Besigye who are protesting his arrest.

Uganda-CAN condemns any violence, but believes that today's riots highlight the dire need for political reconcilation and transparency throughout Uganda.

Since 2002, the Governments of Uganda and Sudan have agreed to allow Ugandan forces up to 100km into southern Sudan to pursue Lord's Resistance Army forces. The limit is near the town of Juba in southern Sudan. Following the release of International Criminal Court indictments for top LRA leaders, however, Sudan agreed last month to allow Ugandan forces to pursue the LRA deeper into Sudanese territory. That agreement has now expired, and Uganda's President Museveni is pushing to extend it, reports Reuters.

Sudan's peace deal in January that ended hostilities between the Government of Sudan and the southern-based Sudan Peoples' Liberation Army has altered dynamics in the South, and the LRA has become the single most significant direct threat to peace in the region. Joint operations between Ugandan and Sudanese forces against the rebel group are currently being negotiated.

Reuters AlertNet reports that a coalition of over 50 humanitarian organizations working in northern Uganda have jointly called on the UN Security Council to pass a resolution demanding the protection of civilians affected by the conflict. They urged the UN Security Council to break its 19-year silence on the topic, especially because a recent upsurge of attacks has forced many humanitarian groups to restrict essential aid-distributing operations to the 1.5 million civilians displaced by the conflict. The coalition, called the Civil Society Organisations for Peace in Northern Uganda (a partner of Uganda-CAN), described the situation in northern Uganda as the "world's worst case of mass child abuse."

The call comes on the heels of a visit by a delegation from the UN Security Council to Uganda, a statement issued by the European Union calling for the Ugandan government to protect civilians in northern Uganda, and a recent spate of LRA attacks on international humanitarian agencies in the region. Uganda-CAN supports the coalition's statement, and adds its voice to the call for the UN Security Council to address the issue.

Reuters AlertNet reports that a British tourist was killed in a northern Ugandan national park today by LRA rebels. The Briton died after rebels attacked a group of primarily foreign tourists in Murchison Falls National Park. Two other tourists were kidnapped and later rescued, while three others were forced to flee into the surrounding countryside.

This attack is the latest in a string of LRA ambushes of foreigners and staff of international humanitarian aid organizations in northern Uganda and southern Sudan. Recent reports indicate that the rebels have begun to target symbols of the international community's presence in the region in response to the International Criminal Court's issue of arrest warrants for LRA leader Joseph Kony and four other LRA commanders last month.

AllAfrica reports that Collin Lee, an employee of International Aid Services, was ambushed and killed in Sudan near the Ugandan border by LRA rebels. Lee is the fifth employee of an international non-governmental organization to be killed in three weeks, the third who is a citizen of a Western nation.

Lee's vehicle was ambushed, and he and his wife and driver were pulled from the car and forced to march with a group of twelve LRA. When Ugandan and Sudanese military personnel pursued the group, the three abductees were shot. Lee was killed immediately, though his wife and driver remain in critical condition in a hospital in northwestern Uganda.

The UN has restarted full operations after it suspended many following previous attacks. It is unclear if it will again suspend its operations. LRA are believed to be targeting employees of Western organizations in retaliation for the arrest warrants recently released by the International Criminal Court.

Today's Daily Vision reports that the UPDF has received unconfirmed reports that LRA leader Joseph Kony has fled to the DR Congo. A UPDF spokesman, Lt. Chris Magezi, speculated that Kony is trying to join his deputy, Vincent Otti, who is widely believed to be in the DR Congo. Kony's decision to leave his base in southern Sudan may be because of the recent decision of the Sudanese government to allow the UPDF to pursue him further north into Sudan than the previously established "Red Line", which allowed Kony relative immunity from UPDF operations.

The report comes on the heels of news that 150 UN soldiers based in the DR Congo were sent to the northeastern DR Congo to disarm Otti's band of LRA rebels on Thursday.

The Daily Vision reports today that the UN has resumed delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians outside of towns in northern Uganda. The UN, which suspended aid delivery four days ago following the death of two aid workers at the hands of suspected LRA rebels, will restart essential food deliveries under armed military escort.

Uganda-CAN welcomes the UN's decision to resume humanitarian aid in northern Uganda, and hopes other humanitarian organizations who suspended their operations because of the attacks will also restart their operations with the greatest possible caution.

In today's Daily Monitor, Julius Mucunguzi of World Vision Uganda writes a moving Op/Ed about the international GuluWalk Day, titled "Changing world opinion for northern Uganda children." He calls upon people in all districts and sub-counties of Uganda to walk for these children in a powerful symbol of solidarity.

He writes, "Something very important happened on the streets in Kampala and Gulu last Saturday. A multitude of Ugandans from all shades of opinion, tribes, ethnic and academic backgrounds walked through the city to show solidarity with the children of northern Uganda."

Mucunguzi further praises the courage and vision of Adrian Bradbury, GuluWalk's founder and lead organizer. "Adrian's resolve is a big challenge for all of us. We must for sure feel ashamed that it had to take some one thousands of kilometers away in Toronto Canada, for us Ugandans to be woken up to walk alongside our brothers and sisters in northern Uganda. It is a shame that we had never expressed such a sign of solidarity with the people of northern Uganda." Read this powerful Op/Ed here.

The Daily Vision reports that the chairperson of the Uganda Human Rights Commission, Margaret Ssekagya, said yesterday that serving national leaders should not be immune from prosecution. Speaking at the Human Rights Defenders conference in Entebbe, Ssekagya underscored the relationship between accountability and democracy, and said that impunity encourages leaders to think "they are untouchable."

Rick Beitman, a student at Arizona State University, writes in an op/ed piece for the ASU Web Devil today about the Phoenix-area GuluWalk on October 22nd. Beitman recounts how ASU students and citizens of Phoenix, moved to action by the plight of northern Uganda's "night commuters" and child soldiers, participated in a 6.71 mile walk and documentary screening to "support the victims in Uganda."

Uganda-CAN commends the efforts of the Phoenix GuluWalk participants in bringing to light the invisible children of northern Uganda and urges them to continue to work for a sustainable peace in the region. Read the full text of the Web Devil article here.

The Middle East Times reports that a member of an official committee investigating the death of SPLM leader and Sudanese VP Dr. John Garang has accused the Ugandan government of being uncooperative in the investigation. Garang died in July 2005 after the helicopter he was riding in, provided by the Ugandan government, crashed in southern Sudan. The official charged the Ugandan government with being slow in providing documents regarding the aircraft’s maintenance.

The Daily Monitor reports that Uganda's Chief of Defence Forces, Gen. Aronda Nyakirima, has accosted several international humanitarian NGOs for their decision to temporarily suspend operations in northern Uganda. The decision followed the death of four humanitarian aid workerss at the hands of suspected LRA rebels last week. Aronda said that claims that the region was too dangerous for humanitarian work were a "huge lie" and accused the organizations' decision of being politically motivated. He also accused them of profitteering from the insecurity in northern Uganda.

Uganda-CAN realizes that the suspension of aid operations will increase human suffering in northern Uganda and hopes that they can be restarted as soon as possible. We also realize aid profiteering is a legitimate concern in northern Uganda. However, Uganda-CAN feels that Aronda's antagonistic statements could cause unneccassary divisions and bad faith between aid organizations and the Ugandan government.

We urge Aronda to recognize the necessity of cooperation between civil society organizations and the government in alleviating the suffering in northern Uganda and urge Aronda to retract his statements immediately.