BANGUI, Central African Republic, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- The president of the Central African Republic says Joseph Kony of the Lord's Resistance Army wants to "come out of the bush" and has been in peace talks.
Michel Djotodia, who has been interim president of the CAR since his Seleka rebels captured the capital earlier this year, said the government has given Kony assistance, British newspaper The Guardian reported. Kony, who says he received a command from God to seize power in Uganda and set up a state guided by the Ten Commandments, has been hiding in the bush in the CAR and neighboring countries for several years.
"It's true, Joseph Kony wants to come out of the bush. We are negotiating with him," Djotodia told the newspaper. "He asked for food supplies and the government took care of that."
An attempt by the Ugandan government to negotiate with Kony collapsed in 2008. The International Criminal Court has issued a warrant for Kony's arrest, and he apparently feared he would end up on trial.
The U.S. State Department released a statement saying Kony has used "any and every pretext to rest, regroup and rearm, ultimately returning to kidnapping, killing, displacing and otherwise abusing civilian populations."
