The Ugandan government has said that it is ready to hold peace talks with the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) that has been fighting in the northern part of the country for the last 19 years.

Minister of Internal Affairs Ruhakana Rugunda was quoted by The New Vision newspaper as saying on Thursday that the government believes that whenever there are problems they should be resolved peacefully, adding that the government can not slam the door on an opportunity of peace.

Rugunda led the government team to the last round of talks with the rebels that collapsed in December last year.

His comments came following a report that the LRA wants to hold talks with the government to end the insurgency that has ravaged the northern part of Uganda.

According to local reports, the LRA's deputy commander Vincent Otti told BBC radio on Wednesday that the rebel group wanted to hold peace talks with the government.

Rugunda however stressed that its door to a peaceful resolution of the conflict is open, provided such a move does not contradict the proceedings of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The ICC in the Hague issued warrants of arrest for LRA commanders and the court's chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, said on Monday he expected the suspects to be handed over by mid- 2006, to be tried for crimes against humanity.

"We are ready to meet an authorized delegation from the rebels. However in the process we shall not conflict with the ICC. Those who have been indicted with the ICC should respond to the summons and charges," Rugunda said.

The last attempts to broker a peace deal between the government and the rebels failed last December when the rebels did not turn up to sign a final peace agreement asking for more time.

They however embarked on attacking civilians, forcing the Ugandan army to mount a full scale war against them.

The 19-year-old rebellion in northern Uganda has left tens of thousands of people dead and over 1.4 million people displaced from their homes.

Source: Xinhua