Uganda move towards peace deal

LRA leader Joseph Kony wants the ICC indictments lifted

Uganda's government and rebels from the Lord's Resistance Army have signed the last in a series of documents before a final peace agreement.

The document relates to disbanding the LRA - whose forces can join the army or return to civilian life.

A government spokesman called it another major step towards peace in the north, after 20 years of fighting.

No date has been set for a final deal, amid LRA concerns about international arrest warrants against its leaders.

The agreement to sign the document detailing how the LRA would undergo disarmament and demobilisation, and be reintegrated into Ugandan society was the final technical hurdle ahead of an agreement, says the BBC's David Bamford.

It comes a week after the two sides signed a ceasefire agreement.

Returning home

Former rebels camped out in transit centres in southern Sudan are being given the option to return as civilians, or in some cases, be integrated into the Ugandan army.

Our people have suffered enough and this is the only chance they have to enjoy peace like other Ugandans Northern MP Simon Oyet

Already many northern Ugandans have begun returning to their home villages after spending years in protective camps.

However, questions over war crimes indictments issued by the International Criminal Court against some LRA leaders remain unresolved.

LRA leader Joseph Kony, himself indicted and in hiding, has said he will never sign the agreement unless the warrants are lifted.

But they remain outstanding despite calls - including from some members of the Ugandan government - for post-war justice to be administered locally rather than in the international arena.

"We are concerned that Kony will not sign the final peace agreement expected [in March] if government does not withdraw the case they took to ICC," northern MP Simon Oyet told the AFP news agency.

"Our people have suffered enough and this is the only chance they have to enjoy peace like other Ugandans."