In response to calls from the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) for peace talks, the government has welcomed the development. Ugandan Interior Minister Ruhakana Rugunda told the BBC News Service, "The government will seize any opportunity to bring the suffering of people in northern Uganda to an end." Rugunda further remarked, "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." Read more here.

Uganda-CAN welcomes this development as a step towards ending Africa's longest running war, a war that has caused suffering for millions of people in northern Uganda. Now Uganda-CAN calls on the international community to seize this moment to ensure this peace process has needed support to increase chances for success.

The BBC News Service reports that Vincent Otti, Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) deputy commander has called for peace talks with the Ugandan government. Further, Otti has said he would be willing to go to the international court to face justice. He added that in his view, the government should also face justice for crimes committed in northern Uganda.

Otti called the BBC on a satellite phone and said that the LRA was ready to talk. "I am Lieutenant-General Vincent Otti and want this talk with the government of Uganda to end the rebellion, because now we fought for 20 years, we are ready for this talk from today," he said. He called on the government to respond to the request for peace talks, and said he was speaking with the backing of rebel commander Joseph Kony. Read more here.

Uganda-CAN calls on the Government of Uganda, with the support of the international community, to exploit this potential opportunity to end this conflict - Africa's longest running war - and the suffering it is causing millions of people in northern Uganda.

Betty Bigombe, Chief Peace Mediator for northern Uganda, has rebutted speculation that she has quit attempts to broker a peace agreement between the rebel Lord's Resistance Army and the Government of Uganda, reports the Monitor. Bigombe had previously asserted that her efforts would be undermined by arrest warrants released by the International Criminal Court, but since the indictments were made public, she has continued her work. More is needed to offer the leadership to entice them from their fighting, she said; with no viable resettlement options or security guarantees, rebels do not feel comfortable giving up their campaign.

In other news, a Sudanese government representative has noted that the Government of Sudan gave the LRA a three-month ultimatum in October to give up fighting or face military engagement, AllAfrica reports. More than one month has now passed with no response, even to offers of Sudanese-brokered negotiations.

In his weekly column for Uganda's Weekly Observer, Father Carlos Rodriguez writes that security in northern Uganda does not necessarily mean peace. He writes, "So long as people are not free to live in their original homes, don’t feel reconciled with themselves and with one another, and cannot walk anywhere without fearing anything, except snakes, we may talk of relative security in the North, but not yet peace. You can achieve some degree of security by taking measures such as deploying more troops where they are needed, increasing road patrols, denying rebels access to weapons and logistical bases, and improving intelligence information and military capacity of the security forces."

He continues, "While all these are needed when people live under the threat of terrorist attacks, peace takes much more than that. It entails changing human relationships and addressing a whole range of issues such as anger, grievances, perceptions, identity, trust and many others, which may take years and even generations."

Today's Sudan Tribune carries a press release from the "Lord's Resistance Army/Movement Information Bureau" stating that the LRA welcomes a recent offer by SPLM leaders to mediate peace talks between the LRA and the Ugandan government. The press release recognized the humanitarian suffering in northern Uganda and southern Sudan that the conflict has caused, and expressed hope that SPLM mediated peace talks could bring an end to the conflict.

The press release is the first sign of hope for a peaceful end to the conflict in several months. The Government of Uganda's mediator to the LRA, Betty Bigombe, established contact with LRA leader Joseph Kony earlier in the year, but was unsuccessful in organizing peace talks. In October, many observers, including Bigombe, reacted to the International Criminal Court's issue of arrest warrants for Kony and four other LRA commanders by saying that they had ruined chances for a peaceful resolution to the conflict by destroying any incentive for the LRA to lay down its arms.

Although the LRA's press release is a hopeful sign, it has often used peace talks or the hope of them in the past as a strategic tool to ensure its continued survival. Read the full text of the press release here.

Today's New Vision reports that the SPLM has offered to help mediate a peace deal between the LRA and the Ugandan government. An SPLM official said that the SPLM had given the LRA three options to choose from in the next two months: to surrender to the SPLM and negotiate with the Ugandan government through them, return to Uganda and continue fighting, or be forcibly disarmed within southern Sudan. SPLM head Salva Kiir said that the SPLM would resort to the last option if the LRA did not respond within two months.

It is unclear what role Ugandan government negotiator Betty Bigombe would have in the proposed talks, or what effect the recent issue of International Criminal Court arrest warrants for top LRA leaders would have on them. Nonetheless, Uganda-CAN welcomes the SPLM's commitment to peace and transnational cooperation.

Additionally, the Sudan Tribune reports that the SPLM, which made peace with the central Sudanese government in January, may participate in upcoming peace talks between the Sudanese government and rebels based in the western Sudanese region of Darfur.