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Reports: Ugandan Government, Rebel Group Sign Truce
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?r=279&ctl=13AA527:A6F02AD83191E160717B28CED386FEF69574F7DCC14957C0 Cessation of
hostilities with Lord's Resistance Army to go into effect August 29





Members of Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army (File photo - July 31,
2006)Sources close to peace talks between the Ugandan government and
rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army say the two sides have agreed to
a cessation of hostilities.

Reports say the two sides signed a truce Saturday in Juba, Sudan, the
capital of southern Sudan's regional government. The cessation of
hostilities is set to go into effect Tuesday, August 29, at 0300 GMT.

Under the deal, both sides must stop attacks and propaganda. The LRA
fighters also are required to gather at supervised assembly points.

Lord's Resistance Army mediators offered no immediate comment.

The rebel group agreed to a unilateral ceasefire earlier this month,
as peace talks got under way. But the Ugandan government had
previously insisted that a bilateral ceasefire be part of a larger
peace agreement to end the insurgency.

The 20-year-war has raged mainly in northern Uganda. It has left tens
of thousands of people dead and displaced more than one million
others.

Peace talks began in July in Juba, Sudan.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has offered amnesty to rebel leader
Joseph Kony and his top aides if they agree to lay down their arms.

Kony and his commanders are believed to be hiding out at bases in the
Democratic Republic of Congo. They face charges of war crimes from the
International Criminal Court.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.


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