Uganda rebels threaten to quit talks, accuse army

Sept 23, 2006 (JUBA, Sudan) – Ugandan rebels accused the Kampala government on Saturday of violating a truce by “besieging” their fighters, and threatened to pull out of peace talks unless the Ugandan army withdrew from southern Sudan.

Delegates representing the notorious Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels in talks mediated by neighbouring southern Sudan said government forces had surrounded an LRA assembly point on the Sudan-Uganda border agreed under the terms of the truce.

“The LRA delegation cannot continue to negotiate while its troops risk imminent attack,” Krispus Ayena Odongo, a senior member of the delegation, told reporters.

“As a precondition to resume peace negotiations, LRA demands for an immediate withdrawal of (Ugandan army) troops that have besieged our troops,” he said.

Ugandan officials were not immediately available for comment.

The peace process is widely regarded as the best chance to end a two-decade insurgency that has killed tens of thousands and uprooted 2 million others.

(Reuters)