afrol News, 1 January - Fighting between government troops and the LRA rebels has resumed in northern Uganda, only one day after the parties seemed to have reached a temporary peace agreement. Foreign mediators have however not yet given up hope to reach a total cease-fire in the landmark talks between the parties.

Mediators from the UN, Norway, Britain and the Netherlands on Friday, 31 December, seemed to have achieved the impossible. For the first time in northern Uganda's 18-year civil war, the parties were directly engaged in peace talks last week. A truce had been observed in the region since 14 November and after several extensions, it was to expire on 31 December.

The British Foreign Office already yesterday congratulated the parties on having reached an agreement of turning the truce into a total cease-fire during the mediated talks. The agreement between the government of Uganda and the brutal Lords Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group was to "end hostilities immediately," stated British Minister for Africa, Chris Mullin.

The rebels - which with no defined goal have terrorised civilians in northern Uganda for almost two decades - however had requested more time to study and discuss the negotiated landmark peace deal. According to Betty Bigombe - a former Ugandan Minister in charge of contact with the LRA and now heading the government's negotiation team - there had been disagreements between factions of the rebel group.

While the Kampala government agreed to give the rebel leaders more time to discuss by extending the truce, the LRA launched a sudden ambush on an army vehicle close to the town of Gulu this morning. The LRA attack was answered by a government decision to suspend the truce and launch full-scale military campaigns against the rebel group.

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni today, in a New Year message to his citizens, announced that the truce and peace talks had collapsed, at least for the moment. He said that the new offensive would not be halted until the LRA started disarming and "irreversibly commit themselves to come out of the bush." President Museveni however added that peace negotiations could still go on.

Also the group of international peace mediators held that they had not given up on the negotiations and that they now attempted to revive talks between the two parties. The talks, which were held in the war-ravaged Kitgum district in northern Uganda, were led by Ms Bigombe for the government and LRA negotiators of lower degrees. The mediators have expressed that the current deadlock could be resolved negotiations on a higher level.

The Ugandan government had on Friday gone far in accepting the proposals of the brutal rebel group. One month ago, the LRA had demanded a ceasefire "unlimited in time and geographical space," a demand immediately rejected as "crazy" by the Kampala government. Friday's negotiated peace deal however came close to this demand, despite a current military advantage by the Ugandan army.

Also the brutal nature of the LRA, which is termed a "terrorist group" by the US and Ugandan governments, made it seem illogical to negotiate with them. The humanitarian price of the conflict in northern Uganda is however too heavy to bear for the Kampala government. Almost 1.5 million people have been displaced by the conflict.

The group, which is led by the self-declared messiah Joseph Kony, has had no other outspoken cause than fighting the government of President Museveni. In its warfare, the LRA has abducted every child they have come across in the region, forcing girl-children into sexual slavery and young boys into killing relatives and becoming brutalised child soldiers.

The LRA has attacked every civilian coming in its way, abducting their children, killing adults and looting farms and towns. The entire population in the war affected districts thus has fled into government protected camps, where international aid organisations and the WFP are feeding the displaced.

A new initiative to find a peaceful solution to the meaningless conflict in northern Uganda was announced by the Norwegian government on 13 December. By then, Ms Bigombe had already been in contact with LRA rebels, who were willing to negotiate. Ugandan authorities asked Norway to mediate and the Norwegian government brought authorities from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands on board "to strengthen the process."

There have been several earlier attempts to find a solution to the conflict, in particular during the last two years after President Museveni gave signals that he could be willing to negotiate. An initiative by church leaders, the most promising so far, however failed to establish direct talks. Last week's mediated talks thus were the first direct meeting between the two parties during the 18-year-old conflict.

By staff writers

© afrol News

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