May 29,
2008: The army denied charges that its
peacekeeping troops in Somalia have sold weapons to Islamist rebels. The
Ugandan statement described the charges as "ridiculous." Uganda has
approximately 1600 soldiers serving with African Union peacekeepers in Somalia,
May 26,
2008: There are Ugandans who have said this was always the case, that is, that
LRA commander Joseph Kony would never reach a peace agreement with the Museveni
government. Now there are reports that Kony has clearly and unmistakably said
he will never sign a peace deal with the Ugandan government. Apparently, Kony
has decided to end the Juba peace process, which has gone on for some 22
months. Kony has apparently heard rumors that various commando groups are
looking for him (one story specified US commandos). He also fears that he will
be arrested and remanded to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for trial.
That fear of Kony's is based in reality. Uganda sought the indictments, got
them, then the indictments have proved to be an obstacle to reaching a peace
deal. The ICC warrants are still in force. Kony could be arrested and tried on
murder charges.
May 21,
2008: The US believes the peace process is over. Rumors are that LRA leader
Joseph Kony has backed away from reaching a permanent peace agreement.
May 19,
2008: The army reported that they captured 14 men, in the last three weeks, who
attempted to enter Uganda from the Congo. Interestingly enough, two of the men
belonged to the pro-Rwandan Hutu Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda
(FDLR). The other 12 had quit the militia run by pro-Tutsi commander Laurent
Nkunda. Uganda has been worried about infilitration from the LRA and Allied
Democratic Forces (ADF) rebel organizations. The latest wave, however, appears
to be tribal militiamen who have had it with the various Congolese wars.
