Elusive Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony refused to sign a peace deal Thursday meant to end 22 years of brutal war that killed tens of thousands in the north, saying he wanted certain issues clarified first, a Ugandan official said, according to dpa. The head of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels was due to sign the deal in Ri-Kwangba, a village nestled on the borders of Congo and Sudan but never showed up. "He has simply declined to sign. He says they are certain issues in the draft peace treaty which he does not understand. He says there are some things that need to be sorted out," Ugandan army spokesman Paddy Ankunda said, after having spoken to Kony's representatives. Ankunda said Kony gave no date for when he might sign the accord, but that President Yoweri Museveni will sign his part on Tuesday at a ceremony attended by dignitaries and envoys in Juba, South Sudan as planned. The deal was meant to be signed last week but was pushed back because the phantom-like Kony had not yet reached Ri-Kwangba and was reportedly ill with diarrhea. The final peace agreement sets out that Kony and his rebel commanders will be tried by a Ugandan court rather than by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague - a component that clinched the deal. The ICC indicted him in 2005 for war crimes and crimes against humanity. "Kony has to come because there is no other option for him but if he fails, the ICC warrants are waiting for him. He will be arrested," Ankunda warned. After the signing, Kony and his rebels will have a month to disarm but they have refused to do so until the ICC indictments are dropped. The deal is vague on the release of the hundreds of children and women still believed to be in LRA captivity. More than 2 million people were displaced during the war. Many still live in sprawling camps but the peace deal could prompt them to return home. Talks to end the war began in mid-2006 but have faced hurdles along the way that threatened to plunge the region back into conflict.
