Weekly Roundup for Aug 2 - 8: More Attacks as Int'l Leaders Disengage
More abductions and attacks by the LRA this week demonstrate the continued urgency of the situation, even while the demise of the peace process has resulted in tragic disengagement from international leaders. After a year of campaigning for his appointment and efforts to promote the peace process, the U.S.' diplomat focused on northern Uganda has been reassigned.
The Good: With the peace process seemingly defunct, the Ugandan Government has extended the Amnesty Act for an additional two years to encourage LRA fighters to continue defecting
The Bad: The LRA - though no longer active in Uganda - has continued its atrocities in the region, launching more attacks and abductions in South Sudan and building more bases in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Ugly: The diplomat the U.S. appointed to support the Juba Peace Process has been reappointed to be Director of Sudan Programs within the State Department, though he retains northern Uganda and the LRA as part of his job.
The Peace Process:
The Ugandan government extended the Amnesty Act for an additional two years, while also granting amnesty to former LRA negotiator James Obita and seven other former members of the LRA. The Act provides defecting rebels with a guarantee that they won't be prosecuted. Over 12,000 LRA rebels have been granted amnesty, and some reintegration packages, under the Act since 2000.
A top Ugandan military official reiterated that the UPDF is prepared to launch operations against LRA leader Joseph Kony, while also saying that the LRA rebels will be unable to resume attacks in northern Uganda.
The UN reports that South Sudan has seen a rise in attacks by LRA rebels in recent months, including one raid in which rebels abducted over 50 people. LRA rebels are also reportedly building new bases in the northeastern DR Congo.
Situation on the Ground:
An outbreak of Hepatitis E has killed at least 104 northern Ugandans, many of them pregnant women. Crowded conditions in camps and inadequate sanitation facilities are partly responsible for the spread of the preventable disease.
The Ugandan government's top official for disaster preparedness said that 3.5 million people in northern and northeastern Uganda face starvation. Extreme weather and crop failure, as well as insecurity and rising food prices, have fueled the food crisis.
The Ugandan military reports that it has recovered over 175 sub-machine guns and over 10,000 rounds of ammunition in northern Uganda since the beginning of the year, many formerly used in the conflict and since fallen into the hands of civilians.
10 armed civilians from Uganda's northeastern region of Karamoja were killed in a clash with the Ugandan military after they allegedly ambushed visiting Sudanese traders, while the military impounded 6,000 Karamojong cattle in separate operation against cattle raiders.
International Response:
Tim Shortley, who was appointed to be the U.S.' diplomat to support the peace process after a year of campaigning by Resolve Uganda and its partners and supporters, has been reassigned to lead the Sudan Programs Group in the State Department. Though Mr. Shortley will retain northern Uganda as a part of his job until the next Administration is elected (at which point we will be galvanizing a push for a new diplomat to focus on ending the crisis), it is nonetheless demonstrative of the broader, tragic disengagement of the situation from international leaders since the peace talks collapsed.
A US military civil affairs team is set to end its activities in northern Uganda due to the improved security situation there. The team, part of the Dijbouti-based Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa, was engaged in activites such as building schools and digging boreholes.