January2, 2007:
The government said that it is prepared to send a battalion of
infantry to Somalia to serve as peacekeepers. The battalion will have at least
1,000 soldiers, indicating that it is a battalion task force (ie, a battalion
operating with attached support troops). In early December Uganda indicated it
was willing to supply peacekeepers to an African Union-sponsored force in
Somalia. A Ugandan contingent would provide more than peacekeepers. It would
politically reinforce Somalia's Transitional Government. The Transitional
Government contends that it is the internationally recognized Somali government
(which it is). Ugandan participation would also take the "Ethiopian edge" off
of the current war in Somalia. Uganda is a predominantly Christian country, but
many Ugandans are Muslim (particularly the tribes living in northern and
northwestern Uganda). Uganda is Kenya's neighbor to the west, while Somalia
forms most of Kenya's eastern border.
December
31, 2006: The Ugandan government said that two of the most significant
"achievements" in Uganda during the year 2006 were : (1) the successful test
well in western Uganda which proved Uganda has oil reserves and (2) the peace
process with the LRA. The government believes the peace process will ultimately
end the "insurgency in the north" (ie, northern Uganda).
December
29, 2006: The government accused LRA rebels of attacking the Ugandan Peoples
Defense Force's (UPDF �" the Ugandan Army) chief liaison officer in Juba, Sudan.
The attack (called an ambush) took place on a road east of Juba. The UPDF
officer was identified as Major Richard Otto. The statement said that Major
Otto escaped the attack and wounded one of the rebel attackers. The LRA denied
that its fighters had attacked Major Otto and insisted that a UPDF unit had
attacked an LRA unit in southern Sudan. That said, both sides invoked the peace
agreement (Cessation of Hostilities Agreement), indicating they intend to
continue the peace process. LRA rebels are still filtering into the two south
Sudan assembly areas.