Khartoum, SPLA truce to help end war in northern Uganda

KAMPALA, Uganda, Jan 5, 2005 (PANA) — The peace agreement signed between Sudan government and the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) will boost the Ugandan army’s fight against the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), media reports quote state minister for finance Agard Didi as saying.

Didi, who represented Uganda at the signing of the truce in
Naivasha, Kenya last Friday, said “the agreement gives the SPLA powers to effectively administer southern Sudan, a move expected to cut supplies to the LRA”.

“The agreement is a big blow to the LRA because there is no way they are going to get supplies,” Didi said, and noted that “the current pressure by the LRA to seek peace talks with government is as a result of the latest developments in southern Sudan.”

The agreement bars the signatories from harbouring or aiding
internal or external rebel groups in their areas of control.