Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is to attend the ongoing peace negotiations with the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in Juba, southern Sudan, a senior official said here on Wednesday.

Ruth Nankabirwa, chairperson of the government Peace Support Committee and minister of state for defense, confirmed that Museveni will fly to Juba to attend the talks soon after he returns from a trip to South Africa to reassure the LRA top leadership of amnesty if they sign a final peace agreement with the government.

Museveni is expected to be back here on Thursday and there were reports that he is planning to fly to Juba over the weekend.

"The president will reassure the rebel leaders of total amnesty if they sign a comprehensive peace agreement with government. It is only he who can assure the indicted LRA top commanders of their security," Nankabirwa said.

The rebel leaders, including Joseph Kony and four of his top commanders, were indicted by the UN's International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague for war crimes and crimes against humanity during the two decade insurgency in northern Uganda.

The LRA has ruled out the signing of a final peace deal until the court drops the charges, a condition rejected both by the court and the Ugandan government.

It is however unlikely that Kony or his deputy Vincent Otti, who have preferred to talk peace through delegates, would reciprocate such a presidential gesture as they have rejected calls to attend the talks in person, citing security reasons.

Museveni's appearance in Juba would be the most significant confidence-building initiative so far since the talks mediated by southern Sudan started on July 14.

The president's scheduled attendance, however, came at a time when the talks were seemingly trapped in a deadlock, following sharp split on the terms of a final peace deal and alleged violations of the Aug. 26 truce by both sides.

The Ugandan government warned the LRA against provoking the government to abandon the peace negotiations, accusing the rebel of killing a senior Ugandan army officer in southern Sudan on Tuesday.

The government also appealed to the mediator Riek Machar, vice president of southern Sudan, for harsh punishment to the rebels, including cutting the current food aid, given their violation of the truce which required them to assemble in two designated zones in southern Sudan.

The ongoing talks are seen another chance to end the conflict in northern Uganda that has left tens of thousands of people dead and over 1.4 million displaced.

Source: Xinhua