In response to the government's condition for a ceasefire, Ugandan rebel group the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has demanded the government to reveal its military presence and disarm it, the newspaper New Vision reported on Tuesday.

In a statement on disarmament, the rebels asked the Ugandan government to specify the location and strength of the Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF) and all militias and assemble them for demobilization.

"Uganda shall constitute and build a new national army that guarantees security, peace and sustainable prosperity of the people of Uganda," LRA chairman Martin Ojulu was quoted as saying.

The LRA peace talk team presented its position paper to southern Sudanese mediators on Monday, re-asserting that the UPDF, like any post-colonial Ugandan army, was not national in character.

The LRA's call came after the Ugandan government set new terms for a proposed ceasefire, demanding LRA leader Joseph Kony to disclose his troop deployment in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda to ensure the monitoring and management of the truce.

The LRA, in turn, demanded "full details" of all state security organs, their personnel, strength, particulars of its members and locations. They also asked for the deployment of peacekeeping troops in northern and eastern Uganda to monitor a possible peace agreement.

"Both parties in the conflict shall, after signing a comprehensive peace agreement, assemble their troops, including all militias, within 30 days in designated areas," the LRA said.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni had warned the LRA rebels hiding in the DRC bush that the UPDF will continue attacking them if they refuse to assemble in south Sudan as a pre-condition for a ceasefire.

Capt. Paddy Ankunda, spokesperson for the government delegation, dismissed the LRA demand as ridiculous, saying, "The LRA should swallow their pride and know that this is mere soft landing for them. We shall not disclose our strength neither shall we disband the UPDF.

"They have to know the situation they are in and the efforts of the Ugandan government to get them out of it. These ridiculous demands will not take them anywhere," he said.

The LRA declared a unilateral ceasefire on August 4 and called on Kampala to do the same. Kampala, however, rejected the call saying any cessation of hostilities had to be negotiated and carried out under the context of a comprehensive peace deal.

The ongoing peace talks, brokered by the southern Sudanese authorities, resumed in Juba on Friday after being put off for a week to allow the LRA to mourn their third senior commander Raska Lukwiya who was killed by the UPDF lately.

The LRA rebellion has left tens of thousands of people dead and over 1.4 million others displaced. Its leadership was indicted by the UN's International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague last year and put on Red Notices by the Interpol in June for crimes against humanity.

Ugandan President Museveni has promised to grant a total amnesty to Kony and his top commanders if they finally can reach an agreement and sign a peace deal before September 12.

The Juba talks are seen as another historic chance to end the LRA insurgency, one of Africa's longest conflicts after a dozen of such attempts failed in the last few years.

Source: Xinhua