Ugandan rebels rejoin peace talks a day after walkout

Sept 29, 2006 (GULU, Uganda) — Ugandan rebels have rejoined peace talks aimed at ending a brutal 19-year conflict in which thousands of civilians have died – just one day after walking out.

The Lords Resistance Army said they would resume talks with the government after independent monitors began probing accusations that the Ugandan army were surrounding camps where the rebels were gathering under the truce.

Both sides have traded accusations of violations of a truce signed last month which many hope will bring an end to one of Africa’s longest wars.

“The peace talks are on course and we hope that we will come out with a solution,” said Martin Ojul, head of the rebel team negotiating a peace deal with the government.

The talks will resume later Friday.

Wednesday, the Ugandan army accused rebels of violating the increasingly fragile truce by leaving neutral assembly points.

The cease-fire calls for rebel fighters to gather at two assembly points in largely uninhabited areas across the border in southern Sudan, where they will be protected and monitored while a broader peace deal is negotiated.

The rebels denied they had quit the camps.

The LRA is notorious for cutting off the tongues and lips of civilians, enslaving thousands of children and driving nearly 2 million people from their homes.

(AP/ST)