KAMPALA, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Uganda and Southern Sudan said on Friday they would not bow to demands by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels, who have sworn to resume war if faltering peace talks are not moved to a new venue. The rebels, who have been fighting for 20 years in a bloody insurgency known for widespread atrocities, have said they would attack Ugandan army positions if talks were not moved from Sudan to Kenya or South Africa. Nairobi has ruled out hosting the talks. The rebels and the Ugandan government have been engaged in south Sudanese-mediated peace talks in south Sudan's capital Juba since July. The stop-start peace talks are seen as the best chance of ending the war. "The Uganda government has no wish or any desire to change the venue of the talks and we call upon the international community to put pressure on the LRA to resume the talks," said Ugandan Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa. The LRA said they would not return to Juba after Sudan's president vowed recently to "get rid of the LRA". Sudan's minister for regional cooperation said in Kampala that his government was willing to continue hosting the talks but would not budge on the venue or mediator. "Our efforts in mediating the talks will continue. However, the venue and mediator shall be the same," said Barnabas Benjamin Marial. In August, the LRA signed a truce, which raised hopes of an end to the brutal two-decade insurgency that has killed tens of thousands of people and uprooted 1.7 million in north Uganda. But on Tuesday, LRA deputy commander Vincent Otti told Reuters from his Sudan-Congo bush hideout that the Ugandan government had left them no choice but to resume the war.
