Herding delinquent sheep

I'm not sure who among the negotiating parties actually wants peace in Northern Uganda. It always struck me as odd that in November last year everyone in the humanitarian community appeared to be planning for one scenario - peace and return.

The only certainty seemed to be that the peace process was far from a pregone conclusion and had many a twist and turn to take. This is not a peace process that follows a military victory over a broken and beaten rebel group. This is not a peace process that the warring parties have called for. This is not a rebel group that has an end goal and exit strategy.

Not surprisingly, just as the parties were due to resume talks this week, another spanner was thrown in the works. Rather bizarrely the Government of Sudan, who not so long ago employed the LRA to fight their war in South Sudan, announced they wanted to rid Sudan of the LRA.

In response, the LRA leadership pulled out of the talks, reportedly announced that LRA members in the assembly areas in South Sudan should leave, demanded an apology from the Government of Sudan, accused Sudanese officials of embezzling peace talk funds, and refused to resume peace talks until they were relocated to Kenya or South Africa. Since then there have been several reports of LRA units moving in Northern Uganda and children being abducted, and local leaders in some areas have instructed people who have resettled to return to the main IDP camps. And finally the UPDF (Ugandan army) pitched in, saying that if the LRA returned to Uganda then they would consider it an act of war, which presumably means they would resume their military offensive.

Gloomy days...