On the night of 25 July, LRA rebels hacked to death 48 people (most them the elderly and infants) in northern Uganda. At least a dozen babies and children less than 10 years old were dashed on trees, crushing their skulls to pieces. About 100 children (aged between 10 and 18) were abducted from the villages of Yepa and Pajong. Local survivors noted that the LRA carried but did not use firearms, probably fearing that the shots could easily alert the army detachment in nearby Muchwini (285 miles north of Kampala).

There was no army presence in the immediate area around the village at the time of the attack, allowing the rebels to escape, although the UPDF is now pursuing this group. Joseph Kony's own group of LRA rebels is suspected of operating in the huge Tim-Palokok game preserve bordering Sudan and used as a springboard for raiding nearby counties.

The entire country seems to be degenerating into insanity. The Italian Catholic news agency MISNA reported that the rebels were avenging two of their members killed by a hostage who, while escaping, opened fire against his captors. The rebels now want the weapon used to kill their two companions and were hanging posters in various villages, threatening the people with more massacres unless the incriminated weapon is turned over to them. Meanwhile, the man is currently under police protection, since an increasing number of people want to drag him before a tribal court to be judged for defending himself. 

Meanwhile, Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir began two days of talks with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on the 26th, primarily to discuss the peace deal Sudan struck with its southern SPLA rebels. Local speculation is that Bashir might offer Kampala more leeway in its hunt for the LRA, if Uganda lessens its support for the SPLA. - Adam Geibel