In an interview today with allAfrica.com, southern Sudanese president (and vice-president of Sudan) Salva Kiir discussed the challenges southern Sudan faces in rebuilding after decades of war. He cited the continued presence of LRA rebels in the region a threat to security and redevelopment.

Kiir also urged LRA leader Joseph Kony to return to Uganda, lay down his arms, and negotiate a settlement with the Ugandan government. However, he advocated joint Sudan/Uganda military operations beyond the Red Line to pursue him if Kony failed to negotiate. Read more of the interview here.

The Daily Monitor reports that Betty Bigombe, the chief peace negotiator in northern Uganda, has praised the international GuluWalk as a successful campaign to open the eyes of the international community to the suffering of people in northern Uganda.

In an interview on BBC TV news, Bigombe said, "It has drawn the attention of the international community to know what is going on and put it in their schedules." Bigombe participated in the Washington DC GuluWalk, which was organized by the Uganda Conflict Action Network.

Today's Daily Monitor reports U.S. and British military experts have joined the hunt for leaders of the Lord's Resistance Army. On 18 October, experts traversed traversed West Nile to scour intelligence leads and assess the prevailing security situation in the region.

This military reconnaissance follows reported infiltration of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels into the jungles of the neighbouring Oriental province of northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo and parts of southern Sudan. There have been rising fears in local security circles that the rebels could launch a military offensive in parts of northwestern Ugandan anytime, inspite of thousands of Ugandan troops amassed to shield the porous frontier areas with the two countries.

A source said the military attaches were on the ground to assess UPDF’s capability and explore how their respective governments could help bolster the anti-LRA campaign. They visited Koboko district and Oraba Customs Post at the Uganda/Sudan border. Read more here.

Read a narrative of the the October 22nd GuluWalk in Toronto in today's Daily Vision. Opiyo Oloya, a Ugandan living in Canada, writes of the solidarity felt among the walkers with the children of northern Uganda as they participated in this "unprecedented civil action." Read more here.

The Daily Monitor reports that Uganda's State Minister for Defence Ruth Nankabirwa has denied claims by the DR Congo that LRA commander Vincent Otti and other LRA rebels are no longer in country. She stated that they have returned to the DR Congo after briefly leaving several weeks and renewed Uganda's call for joint military operations to apprehend them.

Uganda-CAN urges the Ugandan government to pursue a less aggressive and more cooperative relationship with the DR Congo, and to reaffirm its committment to respecting its territorial integrity.

Rain did not stop over 1,000 people from participating in Toronto's 12.5 kilometer GuluWalk this weekend. "It's way better than we expected in this weather," said Bradbury regarding the turnout. "We certainly hoped to have two, three thousand people out [in good weather], but to have over a thousand in a downpour for the entire two and a half hour walk was phenomenal, way beyond expectation." Read more here.

Last weekend, students at the University of Virginia took to the streets of Charlottesville to lead one of the 43 GuluWalks around the world for the children of northern Uganda. "We need to show solidarity, as most Western nations see the war [in Uganda] as a lost cause, just another war in Africa," said fourth-year College student and GuluWalk participant Jenne Chapman. Read about their efforts here.

Reuters AlertNet reports that four parliamentarians from the UK visited northern Uganda earlier this month to witness the impact of the 19-year old war on the people of the region. MP Mark Simmonds said, "The impact of watching the thousands of children entering Gulu every night for safety and security, some having walked 17 kilometres was uniquely disturbing. I found this scene distressing and left with determination and resolution to do all I can to facilitate a solution.’ The MPs also met with Pres. Museveni and UN officials in Uganda.

The New Vision reports that Uganda has secured US $99million from the UN coffers to rehabilitate the war-torn north, a UN children’s agency official has said. UNICEF country representative Martin Mogwanja said they made a US$180m humanitarian appeal this financial year, but have only received 55% of it (US$99m).

“The northern war is an issue that occupies us day after day. We have requested the Security Council to put the issue of violation of children’s rights in the north on its agenda,” Mogwanja said.

The Sudan Tribune reports that southern Sudan ushered in its new autonomous government yesterday, fulfilled a key element of the peace deal between southern rebels and the Khartoum-based central government signed in January. The Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), formerly the chief southern Sudanese rebel group, took 70 percent of the ministries in the newly formed government, while other southern parties and the ruling northern party took 15 percent each. The capital of the new government will in the southern city of Juba.

The January peace agreement ended two decades of civil war between the primarily black animist and Christian south and the Muslim Arab-dominated central government of north. It also calls for a federal governing system, wealth sharing, transition to democracy and a referendum on southern secession after six years. Read more here about the involvement of the LRA and Ugandan government in the conflict and its relevance to peace efforts in northern Uganda.

The Daily Monitor ran two letters to the editor today urging the international community to recognize the role of actors besides the LRA in causing the conflict in northern Uganda. Specifically citing the UPDF and Sudanese government, these letters raise important questions as to where international attention, recently focused on the LRA because of International Criminal Court arrest warrants for five top leaders, should also be directed in the search for peace and justice in northern Uganda.

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

With the Gulu Walk getting closer, it is receiving a lot of attention from the media. I expect this to increase in the next few days as hopefully many eyes worldwide will be opened to the cause.

• GuluWalk Day - Vancouver
• 41 cities worldwide confirmed for 'GuluWalk Day', October 22 - Montreal
• World to walk for Ugandan war children - Reuters UK
• Commute for Uganda's children - Philadelphia
• A Walk to Resuscitate Hope - Toronto

Reuters AlertNet reports that thousands of people around the world will walk this in this weekend's GuluWalk in solidarity with Uganda's "night commuter" children who trudge into towns every sunset to avoid kidnap by Africa's most sinister rebel group.

In a campaign organised by two Canadians, people in 47 cities from Beijing to Boston will symbolically recreate the Ugandan children's nightly trek by walking into their town-centres on Saturday night, sleeping rough and returning at first light. Uganda-CAN has worked with the GuluWalk to organize walks in cities throughout the United States. Read more here.

Reuters AlertNet reports that Ugandan foreign minister Sam Kutesa has called for joint military operations against the LRA with forces from the DR Congo and UN peacekeepers stationed there. Although a band of 300-400 LRA rebels led by Vincent Otti camped in the DRC returned to Sudan several weeks ago, local aid workers in the DRC said that smaller groups of LRA rebels continue to cross between the two countries.

It is unclear what Kutesa meant by "joint operations", which may reignite fears in the DRC that Uganda wants to send troops directly into the country to pursue the rebels. Tensions ran high several weeks ago when Uganda threatened to unilaterally send troops into the DRC to disband the Otti-led rebels, causing memories of Uganda's damaging involvement in the DRC's civil war during the 1990s to resurface.

The Sudan Tribune reports that LRA activity in southern Sudan is hampering the ability of humanitarian assistance to reach the area. The UN envoy to Sudan, Manuel Aranda da Silva, also said that fear of LRA attacks was preventing many southern Sudanese refugees from returning to their homes. Read more here.

While I'm sad to say I won't be attending a Gulu Walk this weekend, I plan instead to track and post updates on this blog about it as it happens.

Today's international coverage of the Global Gulu Walk:

• GuluWalk: On foot for the children of Uganda - New York
• What's On - Events: GuluWalk Day UK - Conventry, UK (Warwick University)
• Gulu readies for global walk (Gulu)
• Over 40 cities worldwide to embark on walk for suffering children in Uganda - via Reliefweb, from XINHUA (The People's Republic of China's official news agency!)
• Wendy Glauser: Rebels aren't the worst of what Uganda has to deal with

More coverage to come tomorrow, stay tuned!

The Daily Vision, Uganda's most widely read newspaper, features the upcoming October 22nd Global GuluWalk Day in today's edition, calling it the "largest ever international push for peace for this all-but-forgotten 19-year-long civil war in northern Uganda." Global GuluWalks are being planned in over 40 cities around the world to show solidarity with the 40,000 "night commuters" of northern Uganda. Read more about Global GuluWalk Day here.

The Daily Monitor reports that Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary General has called on the Lord's Resistance Army rebels to give up the 19-year-long rebellion after the World Criminal Court indicted five of the rebel leaders.

"The unsealed warrants should send a powerful signal around the world that those responsible for such crimes will be held accountable for their actions," Annan said adding, "All eligible LRA combatants should take advantage of existing disarmament and reintegration programmes."

"We are mindful that many of those associated with the LRA were abducted as children and are therefore victims themselves, in need of assistance," Annan further said.

Annan also condemned the on-going violence in northern Uganda and called on all concerned to cease atrocities.

The International Criminal Court officially unsealed five arrest warrants for top LRA officials including Joseph Kony. These warrants, the first ever issued by the court, "were issued on ... 8 July under seal to ensure the safety or physical or psychological well-being and to prevent the disclosure of the identity or whereabouts of any victims, potential witnesses and their families," ICC said.

Betty Bigombe, the chief peace negotiator in northern Uganda, has publicly claimed these warrants are a serious blow to the peace process. Attempts at amnesty, the option Bigombe feels is most likely to bring peace, could be harmed by the ICC warrants.

Others, such as Richard Dicker, an attorney for Human Rights Watch, believe the ICC warrants are the first chance in northern Uganda for justice.

"It opens the door to justice for the people in northern Uganda who have suffered for nearly 20 years in the hands of the LRA," he said.

Read more at Reuters and check out Uganda-CAN's Political Advocacy plan for Peace in Northern Uganda.

A campaign to bring attention to the plight of children abducted by rebels in northern Uganda is set to kick-off on October 18 at the United Nations in New York. Dubbed Act for Stolen Children in Northern Uganda, the Canadian-led campaign aims to create awareness and increase emergency response to the crisis in northern Uganda.

Erin Baines, who started the campaign after spending three years conducting research in northern Uganda, says the Ugandan government has not been able to protect people in the camps and the international community has been mostly silent about the situation, hence the need to bring the campaign to the doorsteps of the UN.

"The Security Council is stubborn in keeping it out of the agenda," says Ms. Bains, adding that this is mostly because Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni is considered a prime example by the West of economic reforms in Africa and is rarely criticized. The aim of bringing the campaign to the UN is to remind world leaders of the Responsibility to Protect resolution (R2P) which calls on nations to collectively intervene to prevent genocide, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.

"[This resolution's] never been tested," says Ms. Baines. "And what better case than northern Uganda where 90 per cent of the population is internally displaced and live in camps?" Find out more information.

Reverend Sam Childers, an American drug addict turned born again pastor, has been running an orphanage and rescuing children from the LRA in southern Sudan since 1998, reports SudanTribune.

Childers traveled to Sudan after hearing the horror stories of child soldiers in the region. Trained in the U.S. military, Childers employs numerous armed Sudanese who he joins in battles against the LRA. Children captured in the battle are taken back to Childers' orphanage where they receive medical treatment and are able to spend time healing.

Sam may soon face an increase in the intensity of his operations, as the dynamics of the LRA situation in southern Sudan are rapidly changing. Nearly 400 LRA forces led by Vincent Otti recently crossed back into Sudan after a brief hiatus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, reportedly chased out by Congolese troops. The Ugandan military was recently granted free passage to anywhere in Sudan where the LRA is hiding; previous limitations on their operations in Sudan prevented them from chasing down LRA leader Joseph Kony. The release of indictments by the International Criminal Court this week undermines any significant opportunity for peaceful resolution of the conflict.

IRIN News reports that the UN has confirmed rumors that a group of LRA rebels led by Vincent Otti has returned to Sudan. Lt-Colonel Thierry Provendier, military spokesperson for the UN's forces in the DR Congo, confirmed claims from Congolese officials that deployment of Congolese troops in the area had caused the rebels to flee back into Sudan. A Congolese army official said that "faced with huge deployment of soldiers from the Congolese army the LRA rebels panicked and on Thursday fled the DRC from where they came."

The New York Times reports that Betty Bigombe, the mediator between the Ugandan government and LRA rebels, has criticized the International Criminal Court's decision to issue arrest warrants for LRA leader Joseph Kony and four other LRA commanders. She said that the warrants would prevent Kony and the other commanders from taking advantage of amnesty offers from the Ugandan government and thus would create an incentive to keep fighting, adding that "there is now no hope of surrender."

The Sunday Monitor also reported on the issue, quoting Bigombe as saying, "How can the ICC charge Uganda to arrest Joseph Kony when they have failed for the last 19 years?". Gulu-based Archbishop John Baptist Odama, also the head of the Acholi Religious Leaders Initiative, and Justice Onega, the head of Uganda's Amnesty Commission, also expressed concern that the ICC warrants would hinder Bigombe's efforts and discourage rebels from accepting the amnesty offer. Although the Ugandan government said that the amnesty offer is still open for non-indicted rebels, it may be become irrelevant and ineffectual if the LRA commanders commanding them cannot take advantage of it.

Daniel Wallis of Reuters reports that Uganda's Lords Resistance Army (LRA) rebels are now officially among the world's wanted men, however he questions whether arrest warrants by the ICC will bring them any closer to justice.

Now, in its first indictments, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has targeted the LRA leadership, but many doubt it will have any impact on the ground. Over the years, Kony has slipped away from every danger, including a helicopter gunship raid on his headquarters last year when the military said he left four wives and 13 children behind. Many in northern Uganda, including some government troops, believe the elusive rebel chief uses magic to escape.

A landmark mediation effort by former minister Betty Bigombe seemed to be bearing fruit late last year when the government and LRA representatives met in the bush. But those efforts stalled, although Bigombe has spoken to Kony by telephone since.

Bigombe had been a vocal critic of the ICC, accusing it of arrogance and lack of transparency, and had said she would end the peace process the moment warrants were issued. Western governments who supported her with logistics and funding said that effort now appeared to be over.

SudanTribune reports that the senior UN envoy to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, William Swing, has announced that the International Criminal Court, investigating war crimes committed by the Lord's Resistance Army since 2003, has released indictments for five rebel leaders.

ICC representatives would not comment on the statements, leading many experts to believe that the indictments shall be kept confidential until those named in them are arrested.

Civil society organizations working for peace have long called for the ICC to drop or delay its investigations, arguing that with an international arrest warrant hanging over their heads, LRA leaders would never voluntarily give up their arms. Advocates for human rights and retributive justice are however confident that the presence of the ICC will help break down the atmosphere of impunity that allows people such as Joseph Kony to commit heinous crimes without fear of prosecution.

Honorable Odonga Otto writes in a column in today's Daily Monitor that the time has come for the Government of Uganda to declare the north a humanitarian disaster area and welcome the help of the international community. He writes, "The Executive had got good excuse to accept international intervention since Parliament had pronounced itself over the matter...They chose to ignore this." Read his column here.

The Daily Monitor reports that the SPLM/A, the former rebel group now controlling much of southern Sudan, suspects that the Khartoum-based central Sudanese government may have had a role in helping a band of LRA rebels led by Vincent Otti cross from southern Sudan to the DR Congo several weeks ago. A top SPLM/A official said that the rebel group needed unprecedented mobility to be able to make the journey to the DR Congo, and could not have made it undetected without the assistance of an outside actor. The Khartoum government is suspected of helping them because of their decade-long support and aid to the LRA.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan encouraged the Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday to disarm a brutal Uganda rebel group but warned Uganda not to cross the border and go after them, according to Reuters AlertNet.

A remnant of some 320 fighters from the Sudan-based Lord's Resistance Army, which has raped, maimed and killed children in northern Uganda, last month came to the northeast Congo and held talks with Congolese officers but did not surrender.

Last week Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who sent troops into the Congo during a five-year civil war, threatened to do something about the LRA if no one else did.

"Inflammatory statements detrimental to the conduct of United Nations operations do not serve the cause of peace and could result in putting the lives of U.N. personnel in danger," Annan said in a statement in an obvious reference to Uganda.

He said "any recourse to the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of the Democratic Republic of Congo, contravenes the United Nations Charter."

Annan condemned the incursion of the LRA fighters and supported the Congo government for vowing to disarm the group "with the assistance of United Nations" peacekeepers.

William Swing, head of the U.N. Mission in the Congo, known by its French acronym MONUC, told the Security Council last week U.N. peacekeepers were prepared to support the Congolese army against the LRA, "if necessary by force."

The LRA controversy is not on the political agenda of the United Nations, but it was mentioned in a Security Council statement because of the group's migration to the Congo. Uganda has objected to the council dealing with the issue. Read more here.

News24.com reports that the DRC's UN envoy Ileka Atoki has asked the UN to impose a full arms embargo and other sanctions on Uganda because of its recent threats to invade the DRC. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni recently threatened to invade the northeastern DRC and disarm a band of LRA rebels hiding there if UN and Congolese forces in the area failed to do so.

In light of already volatile situation in the eastern DRC and the potential for a Ugandan invasion to cause more instability in the region, Uganda-CAN urges the Ugandan government to stop its aggressive brinksmanship and retract its threat to invade the DRC.

The Daily Monitor reports on the approaching GuluWalk Day that looks to be the largest global mobilization in history for peace in northern Uganda.

Kampala and over 40 other cities worldwide will participate in a walk dubbed “GuluWalk Day” on October 22 to highlight the plight of children in the war-torn northern Uganda.

GuluWalk Day is an international civil initiative by two Canadians, Mr Adrian Bradbury and Mr Kieran Hayward to increase public awareness and raise funds to help children affected by the insurgency.

“This is a walk for peace. While donations will be accepted, the focus is raising awareness and showing support. Every night, every morning, the children of northern Uganda walk for their lives. On October 22, we are walking to tell their story as hope continues to force its way through this humanitarian crisis,” Bradbury said in an email interview with Daily Monitor.

Cities that will participate in the walk include Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Kitchener, Montreal, North Bay, Ottawa, St. John’s, Toronto, Vancouver, and Winnipeg.

In the USA, cities of Austin, Boston, Chapel Hill, Denver, Lawrence, Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh, Rochester, Seattle, South Bend, Syracuse, San Diego and Washington DC will take part in the walk.

Other world cities, which have confirmed participation, are Beijing (China), Coventry (UK), Gulu and Kampala (Uganda), London (UK), Stockholm (Sweden), and Uzice (Serbia).

“After the success of the one-month GuluWalk in Toronto in July, the response worldwide has been astounding,” Bradbury said. “From Toronto, to London to Washington, DC, and even Gulu and Kampala in Uganda, GuluWalk Day has positioned itself to be the largest ever show of solidarity for this civil war.”

Bradbury, 35, is the founder of Athletes for Africa, a charity organisation that uses sports to educate and engage Canadians in Africa’s fight against poverty and disease. He conceived the idea of the GuluWalk after reading about the children’s plight in the press. Read more and get involved in GuluWalk Day at the official Web site.

Reuters AlertNet reports that the UN forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have airlifted 300 Congolese troops to the northeastern corner of the DRC, where over 400 LRA rebels have been hiding out for several weeks. The DRC, which said that 1,000 troops will have arrived by the end of the week, said that they intend to disarm the rebels. The rebels, led by LRA commander Vincent Otti, have refused to lay down their arms and have asked for asylum and freedom to use northeastern DRC as a base to carry out operations in Uganda.

DRC officials also responded to aggressive rhetoric coming from Ugandan leader President Museveni, who recently threatened to invade the DRC and disarm the rebels if the UN and DRC troops did not do so soon. They said that they would not tolerate a Ugandan invasion, and warned that it would constitute a "a threat to international peace and security".

Thousands of Ugandan troops have begun gathering at the border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the West Nile region of Uganda, purportedly in preparation to engage Lord's Resistance Army forces across the border, reports AllAfrica. A contingent of approximately 400 LRA forces crossed into Congo over a week ago, and requests from UN and Congolese officials for the LRA to disarm have been ignored.

Although Uganda's Minister of Defense last week claimed that Uganda would under no circumstances enter the DRC, President Museveni has this week stated that if UN and Congolese troops do not take immediate and aggressive action, Uganda's military would be sent across the border. Uganda played a central role in destabilizing eastern Congo during the civil war that ended in 2004, and many fear that if Ugandan forces cross the border again, more chaos could ensue. Several small armed insurgencies still plague the region today.

Uganda-CAN urges the Government of Uganda and UN to delay attaks on the group until robust efforts have been made to open negotiations with the rebels.

The New Vision reports that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued a warrant of arrest for Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) chief Joseph Kony, according to a senior UN official in Nairobi over the weekend.

UN Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari said the warrant of arrest was written on Tuesday but had not been publicised by the ICC, a unit of the UN, until now. “We believe he (Kony) is in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) but we cannot say as to whether the UN forces can apprehend him,” Gambari revealed when asked whether UN forces were in pursuit of Kony.

The warrant for Kony, wanted for atrocities committed in northern Uganda, comes as Uganda appealed for help to bring rebels based in the Congo to book. “The ICC has issued a warrant for the arrest of Ugandan rebel leader but it has not been publicised. The issue here is where to locate Kony and the capacity of the UN to apprehend him,” Gambari said.

Kony’s crimes include torture and mutilation, abduction, sexual violence, forced recruitment and the killing of people the LRA considers are supporters of President Yoweri Museveni.

The ICC assumed the jurisdiction to investigate serious war crimes in northern Uganda last year after President Museveni referred the matter to the court. Read more here.

The New Vision reports that Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels’ second-in-command Vincent Otti, who fled to Congo recently, had said he will not surrender.

Instead, he has asked the Congolese government to grant him and about 400 of his fighters a front to continue waging war against the Uganda government. Otti has also rejected the demand by President Yoweri Museveni that he disarm.

The commander of the 9th Congolese military legion, Gen. Padiri Bulenda, communicated this to Ugandan security officerss during a meeting at the Congolese border town of Ariwara on Friday.

The rebels claimed they were about 400. Padiri, who is coordinating the operations against the LRA in the DR Congo, assured the Ugandan team that his government had turned down the rebels’ request and was pressurising them to disarm voluntarily, or be disarmed forcefully.

The Ugandan chief of military intelligence said Uganda would not set a deadline for the Congolese army and the UN mission there to flush out Otti and his men. President Yoweri Museveni, however, has said Uganda will take action if Congo does nothing about Otti and his men.

The BBC News Service reports that the deadline set by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to foreign militias to leave the country has expired. The government in Kinshasa has pledged action against them and against any new invasion by outside forces.

President Joseph Kabila issued the ultimatum three weeks ago. Officials say there is no sign of compliance by the mostly Rwandan and Ugandan militia. At the same time, Uganda has meanwhile threatened to use force against Lord's Resistance Army rebels sheltering in DR Congo.

Analysts, however, say the Congolese army is in pretty poor shape and may not be capable of disarming the militias. Some soldiers have recently defected in the east to rejoin former rebel groups.

Earlier on Thursday, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni warned that his army would again enter DR Congo unless Ugandan rebels from the Lord's Resistance Army who recently crossed the border were disarmed.

"If the international community does not come in to do it, we shall go there," he told a news conference in the Ugandan capital, Kampala.