Uganda's Lord Resistance Army (LRA) rebels declared a unilateral ceasefire with Ugandan troops today ahead of peace talks due to resume in south Sudan next week.
"The ceasefire was declared by Lieutenant General Otti on behalf of the LRA's leader Joseph Kony and takes immediate effect," LRA spokesman Obonyo Olweny told Reuters by satellite phone.
The rebels' deputy chief Vincent Otti, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, rejected on Thursday a request by mediators to attend peace talks, saying he feared arrest.
The LRA launched one of the world's most brutal insurrections from northern Uganda 20 years ago, later moving to south Sudan and lately hiding out in the jungles of east Congo.
The cult-like LRA is accused of killing civilians and mutilating its victims in a war against the Ugandan government that has uprooted nearly two million people and killed tens of thousands, as well as destabilising southern Sudan