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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
UGANDA: Landmark peace talks stumble
GULU, 8 Sep 2006 (IRIN) - Peace talks between Uganda and the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) have hit a hitch after rebels objected to the inclusion of war victims in the government delegation, Ugandan government officials said on Friday.
Mediators had been trying to make some headway after a landmark truce took effect on 29 August, but rebels broke from talks to consult with their leader, Joseph Kony.
"We disagreed on the representation of war victims at the talks," Captain Paddy Ankunda, spokesman for the Ugandan government delegation, said. "The LRA objected to their inclusion, but they have no business determining our delegation."
Uganda and the LRA both say that they want to bring an end to some 20 years of fighting.
The government this week flew two victims to Juba where the talks are taking place - a woman whose lips were cut off by the rebels and a man who lost his arms.
"These victims carried a huge reconciliatory message - telling the LRA that in spite of what has taken place the people of northern Uganda are ready to forgive them. Today [Friday] the LRA have not appeared," Ankunda said.
The talks are seen by observers as the best option for ending the conflict.
On Thursday, the rebels asked for a one-week break, saying they needed to consult Kony, who is holed up in the northwest of the country, near the border between Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
They also repeated earlier demands that indictments against their leaders by the International Criminal Court be lifted before the talks can be concluded.
On a more positive note, hundreds of LRA rebels have begun moving towards the Sudanese border, en route to two assembly points as required by the recently signed cessation of hostilities agreement between the insurgents and the government.
In the northern Ugandan town of Gulu, Walter Ochora, resident district commissioner, said: "A first group of about 100 headed by Brig. Caesar Ocelam has arrived in Owiny ki-Bul. He has divided his group so that some of the fighters come back to the [Uganda-Sudan] border to receive another group headed by Dominic Ongwen."
The cessation of hostilities agreement that was signed on 26 August in Juba, southern Sudan, designated Owiny-ki-Bul in Eastern Equatoria State on the eastern side of the River Nile and Ri-Kwangba in Western Equatoria State on the western side of the River Nile as assembly points for LRA fighters who want to come out of the bush.
The rebels have until 12 September. The agreement also asks the Ugandan government to guarantee safe passage for the LRA.
"Today we met a group led by Col Okello Okuti," Ochora added. "So far, seven groups of about 100 rebels each have been helped after we agreed with [deputy LRA leader, Vincent] Otti that we should mobilise food and other items for them as they proceed to southern Sudan."
According to Ochora, 39 rebels who requested help to reach the Sudan border were taken by truck on Friday. "We have agreed with Otti that those who cannot beat the deadline should be put on trucks and driven to the border. The ones we ferried were headed by a Capt Mandera and were brought from the border of Soroti and Lango. They joined with Okuti's team in Kitgum and proceeded to the border."
Talking on a local Gulu radio station on Wednesday, Otti asked his fighters to go to southern Sudan, but assemble a few kilometres from Owiny ki-Bul. He claimed the designated assembly area was heavily mined. "I took part in planting landmines in that area and former LRA commanders like Sam Kolo and Kenneth Banya know this," the rebel leader said.
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[ENDS]
This material comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2006
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