The Archbishop of northern Uganda, John Baptist Odama said Thursday that the security situation, especially in Acholi sub-region, is not ripe and does not warrant people to go back to their villages. "The security situation here is not yet ripe at all. Of recent, there have been lots of incidents by the Lord's resistance Army (LRA) rebels in Gulu, Kitgum and Pader districts," he said. Read more at The New Vision.

In the past week 27 people in Kitgum district in northern Uganda have fallen ill with cholera, apparently catching the disease from travelers from southern Sudan. 1.5 million people live in crowded IPD camps with deplorable sanitation facilities in northern Uganda, threatening the possibility of an even larger outbreak. Read more at The People's Daily.

Reports from the ground in Lango and Teso regions of northern Uganda indicate that there are significant problems with government efforts to encourage IDPs to return home from displaced person's camps there. Though plans to return IDPs to their homes have been commended in the press, many IDPs themselves seem to be poorly informed of these efforts. Also, many IDPs remain concerned about the security situation in Lango and Teso (including concern over recent murders and abductions) despite government proclamations that the regions are safe from LRA attack. Security specialists are still monitoring LRA activity in Apac district in Lango, and were monitoring LRA activity in Lira district, also in Lango, only weeks ago.

Hundreds of people displaced by the war in northern Uganda will begin returning to their villages today. The army announced yesterday that internally-displaced peoples mainly in the Lango and Teso sub-regions will walk home. While people wish to return home, MPs from the two districts have expressed fears of mismanagement and insecurity. Further, the Defense and Army spokesman Major Felix Kulayige said yesterday that the resettlement process will not extend to the Acholi sub-region where the majority of the displacement has taken place. Read more at The Daily Monitor.

While Uganda-CAN welcomes the resettlement of IDPs in Lango and Teso, we continue to call for the resettlement of all IDPs with security. The camps, initially designed to protect the people, are now leading to more than 1,000 excess deaths each week.

The Ugandan military has extended its withdrawal of escorts to humanitarian aid workers working in northern Ugandan IDP camps. Yesterday AllAfrica.com reported that the decision would affect only areas under the UPDF 5th division, but Reuters AlertNet reports today that the decision will cover all of northern Uganda. The military will continue to provide escorts to groups that provide food aid, but military spokesman Lt. Chris Magezi said, "There is no longer need to give escorts to whoever travels on the roads. We are moving from a bad situation to an improved security situation."

Aid workers in the region are negotiating with the military to have the decision reversed. There have been at least two rebel attacks in the region over the past several weeks. Read more at Reuters AlertNet.

A report released by the Famine Early Warning System Network reveals that food insecurity in northern Uganda is still the norm for the 1.5 million people displaced by the conflict. Efforts to encourage IDPs to resettle voluntarily have not been successful, and most are reliant on food aid from the UN's World Food Programme and other humanitarian organizations. Read more at Reuters AlertNet.

The Ugandan military is ending its policy of providing escorts to humanitarian organizations working in IDP camps in northern Uganda under the control of the 5th Division, which includes parts of Lira district. The UPDF, which also plans to decrease the number of military escorts to the UN's World Food Programme in the area, said that the region covered by the decision was safe from LRA threats. Read more at AllAfrica.com.

A report released Friday, the Northern Uganda Baseline Survey, revealed that 70% of the people in northern Uganda live below the poverty line. It also states that only eight percent of all household income is spent on education, while less than one percent is spent on education. Read more at The New Vision.

A UPDF official in northern Uganda has ordered civilians in the region to stop turning themselves in to UPDF detachments claiming to be escaped LRA rebels. LRA rebels who surrender are given an amnesty package which normally includes mattresses, household utensils, money, and sometimes land. That civilians would claim to be ex-LRA rebels is indicative of the extreme poverty in northern Uganda caused by the war and displacement into camps and the desperate measures people are forced to attempt in order to survive. Read more at Africa News Dimension.