Uganda, LRA reach breakthrough deal

KAMPALA, Uganda, Feb. 20 (UPI)

U.N. officials say an agreement between the Ugandan government and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army is a breakthrough toward ending the conflict.

Joaquim Chissano, former president of Mozambique and U.N. secretary-general special envoy for the region, says he is holding out hope that the agreement signed Tuesday will represent significant progress in the ongoing negotiations towards ending the conflict, the United Nations reported.

According to U.N. spokesperson Marie Okabe, "the agreement deals with mechanisms to implement the principles for accountability and reconciliation that both the government and the LRA -- which signed a ceasefire in 2006 to end two decades of fighting in northern Uganda -- agreed to in June last year," the release said.

Officials say Chissano was deployed to the region Friday to aid in bringing the Ugandan government and the LRA together and help with efforts to find a comprehensive agreement to end the violence in the region.

Peace talks between the two sides are expected to continue at Juba, Sudan, under the mediation of the Southern Sudan government.