As acute levels of poverty continues to plague northern Uganda, increasing numbers of residents of the war-ravaged region are responding to the tragedy by committing suicide, a survey released on January 17 shows. The survey was conducted in northern districts of Uganda between 2004 and 2006, by Emilio Ovuga, a professor of Psychiatry and Dr. Eugene Kinyanda, a consultant psychiatric at Butabika Psychiatric Hospital. The districts covered were Mubende, Bugiri, Kapchorwa, Katakwi, Kaberamaido, Adjumani, Apac, Arua, Moyo, Nebbi, Lira, Yumbe and Bushenyi. The report shows that between 2004 and 2006, a total of 403 people committed suicide while 1,079 attempted to commit suicide. The majority of the victims were internally displaced persons living in appalling conditions. Read more at The Monitor.

The decongestion and resettlement programme in the war-ravaged northern and north-eastern regions will continue whether the faltering Juba peace talks succeed or not, an army official has said. The UPDF's 5th Infantry Division commander Lucky Kidega said even if LRA rebels return to Uganda, the government programme of decongesting IDP camps in Acholi sub-region and the resettlement of the IDPs in Lango and Teso sub-regions would go on as planned. Read more at The Monitor.

The UPDF yesterday told residents of northern Uganda not to panic following threats by LRA's Vincent Otti's to send LRA fighters back into to Uganda. "I want to assure the public that there is no need to panic. People should go on with normal life," Lt. Chris Magezi, the northern region army spokesman said yesterday. "These are empty threats. We shall not allow them to cross into Uganda. UPDF is not sleeping. We are on high alert." Yet, intelligence sources show that panic has increased among northern Ugandans and many who recently moved to decongestion camps are returning to the squalid displacement camps. Read more at The Monitor.

The Ugandan government yesterday issued fresh resettlement guidelines for internally-displaced people in war-torn northern Uganda. The main announcement is that the district security committees are to determine the safety of the villages before people leave the camps. In what he termed a "massive move from policy to implementation," the Disaster Preparedness Minister Prof. Tarsis Kabwegyere commended Gulu, Kitgum and Pader district committees for jointly declaring secure areas for resettlement. "With the improvement of the security situation, the Government plans a proper mobilisation of auxiliary forces and progressively increase the deployment of civilian police in areas of displacement, resettlement and return," he asserted. Read more at The New Vision.

Members of the Acholi Parliamentary Group announced that they had discussed concerns for land security in northern Uganda with the UN Special Envoy for northern Uganda, Joaquim Chissano. Acholi MPs have been very vocal in recent months in their demands that the land rights of northern Ugandans be protected during the hoped-for transition to peace, and have said that government investment plans threaten land security in the north. Chairperson Livingston Okello-Okello said, "We call upon the international community, and the UN in particular, to help us see to it that the land rights of our people are protected. Land is their only asset left. It is their only hope for the future." Read more at The New Vision.

The State Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees Musa Ecweru has said that out of the 2.6 million people who were displaced as a result of the LRA insurgency, one million have so far returned home. "Many people are still leaving the camps for their homes at their own will," he said. However, Ecweru said some people still fear to return to their villages because they are traumatised. Many others remain waiting for the signing of a peace agreement between the Government and LRA in Juba. "The government is doing everything possible to ensure IDPs return home," Ecweru said. Read more at The Monitor.

Improved security in war-ravaged northern Uganda resulting from the Juba peace talks allowed 230,000 displaced people to go home in 2006, the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) said today. Talks are set to resume later this month after the LRA rebels agreed to extend a landmark ceasefire with the government in December. "Improvements in overall security ... in 2006 encouraged hundreds of thousands of people to move voluntarily out of camps, seeking to support themselves," WFP said in a statement. "Some of these families have spent years in the camps, and some of their children have never known a normal life. It's enormously encouraging to see people feel safe enough to go home," WFP Deputy Country Director Alix Loriston said. Read more at Reuters AlertNet.

More than 1,700 police officers have been deployed in Lango and Teso sub-regions to strengthen security as the population displaced by the war returns home. Prime Minister Apollo Nsibambi said that the police officers are replacing UPDF officers because the areas where resettlement of displaced people is taking place are now secure. Read more at The Monitor.