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UNITED NATIONS humanitarian chief, Jan Egeland has been urged by Uganda's rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) to support immunity for its top leaders from international war crimes charges. Egeland is joining the Ugandan government and LRA at peace talks in Juba in southern Sudan. He has opposed an amnesty for the five rebel leaders indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC). But he said other forms of justice should also be used to ensure the brutal 20-year war is ended. LRA spokesman Obonyo Olweny said the only way peace talks could progress was for Egeland to persuade the UN Security Council and the ICC to drop the charges. "The predominant feeling among all the stakeholders in the peace process is that the ICC warrant of arrest should be dropped against the LRA leaders, so that a peaceful conclusion to the talks can be reached," he told the British Broadcasting Corporation's (BBC) Network Africa programme. But Egeland in his response said it was up to the ICC to respond to the LRA's demand. "Those who have been indicted should face justice but we should also use all other ways to deliver justice," he said, suggesting that even traditional systems could help. Uganda has offered an amnesty to LRA leaders in exchange for an end to the war but the ICC has refused to withdraw its international arrest warrants. Thousands have died during the conflict and more than one million have fled their homes. Egeland is hoping to persuade both sides not to be side-tracked by the amnesty issue. The first group of rebels yesterday afternoon arrived at assembly points in southern Sudan - as part of a truce with the government. At least 400 rebels have arrived at two sites and include deputy leader Vincent Otti, according to peace talks mediator Riek Machar. The rebels have been trekking on foot through northern Uganda since a cessation of hostilities last month. By the terms of the deal, the rebels will be protected by the southern Sudanese and the government has undertaken not to attack them. "They have shown up in the western assembly point in Ri-Kwangba. They have also shown up in Owiny-ki-Bul," southern Sudan's vice president Riek Machar told reporters. Earlier in the day, the BBC reported meeting a group of about 50 rebels, some 80kilometres from the border. Also a 15-year-old Ugandan boy, George Ochera, told Agence France Presse (AFP) news agency from Akworo, a village some 70 kilometres (45 miles) from the border: "We saw 200 rebels camping here. Before, we were afraid of them but this time they said peace is coming." The LRA has abducted thousands of children and forced them to fight since the conflict began. Aid workers say the flood of children known as night commuters that used to stream into northern Ugandan towns every night for protection from rebel attacks has now slowed to a trickle. __._,_.___SPONSORED
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