Uganda says Sudan backing LRA talks, for now

March 23, 2007 (KAMPALA) — Sudan still backs peace talks in its south between the Ugandan government and Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) Ugandan rebels, but says they cannot go on indefinitely in Sudan, Uganda’s top negotiator said on Friday.

The discussions stalled in January after LRA representatives quit south Sudan’s capital Juba, saying they feared for their safety and demanded a change of venue after Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir vowed to “get rid” of the rebels from Sudan.

Speaking after returning from meetings in Khartoum, Uganda’s Internal Affairs Minister Ruhakana Rugunda said Bashir still backed the talks, but wanted them to have a clear time limit.

“President Bashir has reiterated his support for the peace talks in Juba, but he has observed that they should not be open ended. There must be a time frame,” Rugunda told reporters.

He said both sides would meet again in Juba on April 13.

“We will meet to sort out the administrative issues and then the full peace talks resume thereafter,” he said in Kampala.

Fighting between government forces and the LRA have killed tens of thousands of people and uprooted some 1.7 million more in northern Uganda. The rebels are notorious for targeting civilians, mutilating their victims and kidnapping children.

(Reuters)