Uganda: Government welcomes rebel overture

Ugandan Interior Minister Ruhakana Rugunda has welcomed a call for peace talks by the deputy commander of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army. He said that if the overture was serious it was a welcome development. The government will seize any opportunity to bring the suffering of people in northern Uganda to an end," he told the BBC. The LRA has fought for 19 years. Peace talks were attempted a year ago, but broke down. "The government is waiting and the government will be ready to meet a delegation of the Lords Resistance Army anytime. So the government is ready," he said.