The Daily Monitor reports that the chairman of Uganda's Amnesty Commission announced that the amnesty law will be extended on February 15th for an additional six months. Under the law, former rebels (including LRA rebels) are allowed to surrender without prosecution and are given assistance reintegrating into society.

However, it is unclear whether arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court last October for Joseph Kony and four other LRA commanders will hinder the amnesty law's effectiveness. Some fear that the warrants will discourage LRA rebels from surrendering. None of the five indicted commanders have been apprehended as of yet.

The New Vision reports that the Archbishop of Gulu Archdiocese, John Baptist Odama, has appealed to Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) chief Joseph Kony and his rebels to come out of the bush and talk peace with the government. Odama said for the sake of peace, he would offer himself to be arrested on behalf of Kony if his fear is that he could be arrested by the International Criminal Court over the atrocities the LRA have committed.

He was speaking during peace celebrations organised by Gulu archdiocese in Adjumani district. Odama said he was offering himself for arrest because peace was so much desired by the people of northern Uganda. Emmanuel Cardinal Wamala praised Odama for his resolve, saying, “If you are arrested, all the bishops and other religious leaders will be ready to accompany you to prison.”

Today’s Sudan Tribune reports that the SPLM is still waiting to hear from the LRA on whether it will accept its offer to mediate a peace agreement between the LRA and the Ugandan government. An SPLM official said that Salva Kiir, head of the SPLM and president of the southern Sudanese government, will initiate peace talks between the two immediately if the LRA accepts its offer of mediation.

The official reaffirmed the SPLM’s commitment to a peaceful resolution to the rebellion. However, he warned that failure to accept the offer would result in joint operations between SPLM and Ugandan forces to defeat the LRA militarily.