§ Mr. ChallenTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government are taking to initiate and assist international peacekeeping efforts in North East Uganda. [123855]
§ Mr. MullinWe deplore the violence perpetrated against innocent civilians by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in the north of Uganda. We sympathise with the Ugandan government's aim of combating the LRA militarily, but we have, through our High Commission in Kampala, encouraged them to consider all alternative methods of bringing the conflict to an end. We are providing humanitarian aid to the people of the north and support to a number of civil society groups engaged on peace issues, including Acholi traditional and religious leaders. We do not believe that the conditions are right for external mediation at this stage.