An updated profile by the International Displacement Monitoring Centre shows that between 1.7 and two million people remain internally displaced in northern Uganda. While the number of attacks on civilians has decreased, LRA rebels continue to maintain a presence in northern Uganda and the overall security situation remains fluid and unpredictable. Abuses of civilians continue to be committed by the Ugandan military, and in particular by local defence units. Basic conditions in the majority of camps remain for the most part unchanged. The government recently launched its new mechanism to address the humanitarian situation. It appears, however, that this Plan’s implementation is hampered by a lack of participation by government ministries and a deficiency of resources.

Senior UPDF military officers are reported to be taking advantage of the institutional breakdown in the LRA-infested Acholi sub-region to manipulate peasants and grab their fertile land. The Gulu LC5 Chairman, Nobert Mao, said on Monday that the "arrogant and indifferent" attitude of the UPDF commanders was hurting the victims of the prolonged banditry. "Our people are suffering double victimisation, they are huddled in underserved camps and now, they have been made serfs in their own motherland by hungry and unscrupulous people," Mao said. The Daily Monitor has learned that local Acholi leaders met for two days at the residence of the Acholi paramount chief Rwot Acana II on June 24-25 and constituted a 15-member ad hoc committee to regulate land business in the Acholi sub-region. "We are directing that the illegal acquisition of land, which is so rampant, must stop forthwith until the three districts of Gulu, Kitgum and Pader come out with a unified land policy," said a press release issued by the leaders. Read more at The Daily Monitor.

William Bionx Akena, Uganda-CAN news correspondent in Gulu, reports that the conditions in the displacement camps remain horrific. Visiting a camp seven kilometers outside Gulu town, he witnessed severe food and water shortages. For a population of 26,800 people, the camp only has two boreholes. Further, camp residents spoke of the strains in the civilian-military relationship. One camp leader said that UPDF had tortured IDPs who went to plant tomatoes in the garden. There were further allegations of rape against young women in the camps. The northern military spokesman denied all these accusations, saying that all military who commit crimes are dealt with accordingly.

UNHCR today marks World Refugee Day and has called for more long-term support for the millions of refugees around the world. While the number of refugees has declined in recent years, the number of internally-displaced peoples has increased. In northern Uganda, 1.7 million people remain displaced in the most horrific conditions.

The Government of Uganda plans to spend $10 million to resettle internally displaced persons in northern Uganda. Presenting the country's 2006/7 budget estimates to parliament on Thursday, Finance Minister Ezra Suruma said the money would also be used to alleviate poverty in the region over the next 12 months. "Northern Uganda continues to have the highest incidence of poverty due to the persistent insecurity over many years," Suruma said.

Last week, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report that up to 393,000 persons had already returned home in regions of Lango in the north and Teso in the northeast. However, a series of assessments in areas of return conducted in April indicated a challenging amount of work ahead. OCHA said the assessment revealed a "lack of teachers in schools due to lack of staff housing; lack of equipment and school materials; extremely poor condition of the health services, including the need to refurbish the infrastructure." Also for the people who remain in camps, mortality rates remain dire. Read more at UN IRIN News.

The World Food Programme (WFP), announced last Friday that they will be suspending their school feeding project in Kitgum district due to an outbreak of cholera there. The WFP, a UN agency, provides food for many of the displaced persons in northern Uganda, and Kitgum is one of the districts most dependent on their aid. At least 594 cases of cholera, including eight deaths, have been reported in the epidemic, which has spread quickly due to the density of and inadequate healthcare in IDP camps. Social activities such as discos, funerals, and weddings have also been suspended to the epidemic, and schools have just recently reopened. Read more at The New Vision.