NAIROBI, Kenya - Fighting between Ugandan rebels and Sudanese soldiers killed at least 23 people in a remote area near the countries' border this week, rebel and military officials said.
The reports of fighting -- which could not be independently confirmed -- came as peace talks between the Ugandan government and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army faltered. The rebel army has been waging one of Africa's longest and most brutal rebellions, drawing in the volatile region comprised of northern Uganda, eastern Congo and southern Sudan.
On Friday, Lord's Resistance Army negotiator James Obita said soldiers from southern Sudan had attacked a rebel camp Wednesday, killing two rebel fighters. The rebels apparently struck back the next day, said Maj.-Gen. Wilson Deng Kuirot of the southern Sudanese army. He said rebels killed seven soldiers and 14 civilians.
The Lord's Resistance Army, formed more than 20 years ago, has become notorious for raping children and using them as soldiers. The group's elusive leader, Joseph Kony, and other top members are wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
The government and the rebel army have been trying to reach a peace deal for two years, but the talks have been marked by walkouts.
On Thursday, the government declared the talks had failed. President Yoweri Museveni said Congo, southern Sudan and Uganda have agreed to fight the rebels, although he did not say if any attack was planned.
On Friday, however, Obita told The Associated Press that the peace process had not broken down and he was confident Kony would sign a deal.
"We feel that the talks have not collapsed,'' said Obita, speaking on the phone from Juba, where the negotiations have been held.
In April, Kony stood up a fleet of sweating diplomats who had flown to his jungle hideout to sign a long-awaited peace deal to end more than two decades of conflict.
As part of the deal, the Uganda government had agreed to ask the International Criminal Court to withdraw indictments against Kony and other rebel leaders.
Under an agreement signed in March, those charged with serious crimes would be tried in a special division to be set up within Uganda's High Court system. Those accused of lesser crimes would be judged according to northern Uganda's traditional justice system, known as Mato Oput, which human rights workers say is insufficiently punitive.
Kony's representatives say his group will not disarm until the international warrants are lifted. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says the UN has provided more than $10 million in technical, logistical and financial support to the Southern Sudan-mediated peace talks over the past two years.
