Ugandan rebels urged to return to talks

KAMPALA, Uganda, July 10 (UPI) -- A mediator for the Ugandan government and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army is calling on the LRA to return to peace talks after a halting of progress.

Chief mediator Lt. Gen. Riek Machar Teny-Dhurgon, Southern Sudanese government vice president, called on the LRA to re-engage in peace talks.

In a report to the U.N. Security Council, Teny-Dhurgon said since talks began in July 2006 to end the long-running conflict between the LRA and the Ugandan government, LRA leader Joseph Kony has failed to follow through on any measure to establish peace, the United Nations reported.

Officials say the lack of any regular and credible communication between the LRA and the mediation team has hampered progress. A series of accords reached between rebels and government officials in early 2008 had the potential to end the conflict, but Kony did not show up for a promised signatory event.

Teny-Dhurgon called for the immediate implementation of portions of the agreement. "Our efforts in this direction would demonstrate a viable peaceful alternative to violence as a means of ending this conflict," he said in a statement.

"Although the path ahead is challenging, we believe that ending this conflict commands and deserves the full commitment of everyone."