Ugandan Archbishop urges peace

Joseph Kony is still hiding in eastern DR Congo

The Catholic Archbishop of Gulu in northern Uganda has called for a peace deal between the government and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).

On Thursday, President Yoweri Museveni said Uganda would support military action against the LRA rebels.

But Archbishop John Odama has warned that failure to achieve peace will destabilize the region and reverse the progress made during the peace talks.

"If we go now for war, it means we're throwing all this away," he said.

LRA leader Joseph Kony has failed to sign a peace deal with the government, and has been hiding in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

A final deal was reached in March after almost two years of talks.

We have reached the moment of signing a peace agreement. It is just a matter of trying to convince [Kony] and I know it can succeed Archbishop John Odama

Military officers from Uganda, South Sudan and DR Congo this week resolved to launch an operation against the rebels.

President Museveni said that Mr Kony would be destroyed if he ever tried to cross into Uganda.

Archbishop Odama said all efforts should be made to find out why Mr Kony had refused to sign the agreement.

"We have reached the moment of signing a peace agreement. It is just a matter of trying to convince [Kony] and I know it can succeed," he said.

He warned against moving the conflict across the border to DR Congo.

"This war was national and it has gone now to what we call regional, and therefore it is spreading. If it can be stopped before it goes to that extent, the better for Africa," he said.

Throughout the peace talks, in the South Sudan capital Juba, Mr Kony remained in DR Congo, while he and his top commanders were the subjects of arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

He is accused of numerous war crimes, including mutilating and abducting civilians and forcing thousands of children into combat.

During the peace talks, the threat of attack by the LRA rebels receded from northern Uganda and security there has improved over the last two years.

But there have been reports of the rebels attacking and abducting civilians in both eastern DR Congo and the Central African Republic, suggesting that the problem has been displaced, not removed.