Breakthrough Ugandan agreement with northern rebels
Ugandan Government and the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) have signed an agreement to set up accountability and reconciliation measures to help end the conflict that has ravaged the north of the country for two decades.
Government forces and the LRA have fought since the mid-1980s and the rebel group has become notorious for its use and abuse of children, either as soldiers, porters or in other roles, during the long-running conflict. Captured children were often subject to extreme violence soon after being abducted by the LRA, with many girls allocated to officers in a form of institutional rape.
But the two sides signed a ceasefire in 2006 and talks have been taking place in recent months to try to reach a permanent settlement ending the civil conflict.