Donors deny hampering efforts to fight rebellion

Donors to Uganda have rejected suggestions by President Yoweri Museveni that imposed restrictions on defence spending have hampered the army's effectiveness in fighting rebels in northern Uganda "We reject the assertion that donors' restrictions on defence expenditure have impeded the UPDF's capacity to defend citizens from such attacks. Donors agreed exceptional increases in defence spending last year that were related to combating the LRA," a statement issued on Friday said. "[But] it is the obligation of government to protect the lives and property of its people." Signed by 17 ambassadors to Uganda, including that of the US, Jimmy Kolker, the statement said: "We acknowledge parliament's request for humanitarian assistance to be provided in the north. We will continue to provide such assistance, [but] we call on the government to extend the provision of security for humanitarian delivery." "The conflict which causes such suffering must be resolved," it added. Nearly half of Uganda's budget is funded by foreign sources, including donors who have insisted in the past that defence expenditure should be kept to a minimum. The statement condemned the "appalling atrocities by the LRA, and in particular the vicious attack on Barlonyo camp in which so many helpless men, women and children lost their lives". It called on the governments of Uganda and Sudan to "cooperate in providing security on both sides of their shared border". On Tuesday, while touring some of the areas worst affected by the conflict, Museveni said the war had not ended, partly because "donors placed too many restrictions on defence spending". He accused the UN Security Council of not taking the conflict in the north seriously. Museveni, who blamed the recent massacres of internally displaced people by rebels, on command mistakes committed by the UPDF divisional commanders in charge of security in northern Uganda has apologised to the those who lost their relatives. Irked by the disparity between official government figures, which put the number of those killed during last Saturday's massacre at 84, and claims by local and religious leaders that the number killed had exceeded 200, Museveni on Thursday launched a forensic investigation. The investigators would exhume the bodies from the mass grave, and a proper burial would be conducted once the precise number of the dead had been determined, sources at the office of the president said.