Uganda and Lord’s Resistance Army Agree to Third Phase of Peace Deal
December 1, 2007 12:25 pm Lord's Resistance ArmyKAMPALA, Uganda, June 30 (Reuters) — Uganda’s government and the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels have signed an agreement on how to deal with war crimes in the third phase of talks to end one of Africa’s worst conflicts, the rebels said Saturday.
The signing, at negotiations in southern Sudan, was a major development in an intended five-stage peace deal aiming to end two decades of violence in northern Uganda.
“We signed the agreement on reconciliation and accountability late last night, which moves us one step closer to a final peace agreement,” Martin Ojul, the leader of the rebel delegation in Sudan, said by phone.
Talks between the sides started last July, which raised hopes of an end to a war that has caused tens of thousands of deaths and forced nearly two million refugees into camps that aid workers say are among most squalid in the world.
Progress had been slow since a truce was signed last August. But last month the sides signed the second stage of the deal, breaking months of deadlock.
The third phase is supposed to set principles for dealing with war criminals — a thorny subject for a rebel group notorious for beating civilians to death, mutilating victims and abducting children.
The rebel leader, Joseph Kony, and three other top commanders are wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, and have vowed never to leave their Congolese jungle hide-outs unless the court drops the indictments.