By Tim Cocks KAMPALA, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels have rejected south Sudanese Vice President Riek Machar as chief mediator at talks to end one of Africa's longest wars, the guerrillas' deputy leader said on Wednesday. In another setback to a sputtering peace process, LRA second-in-command Vincent Otti said the rebels would permanently abandon talks with Uganda's government in south Sudan's capital Juba if an alternative venue cannot be found. Otti's comments came after delegates representing the LRA said they would quit the talks because they feared for their security after Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir vowed to "get rid of the LRA from Sudan". "I don't want Riek Machar. I don't want peace talks in Juba. Talks are closed in Juba forever," Otti told Reuters by satellite telephone from his hideout on the Sudan-Congo border. Machar was not immediately available for comment. South Sudanese officials have said they think they can persuade the LRA to return to Juba, where talks mediated by Machar began in July. Otti rejected this, saying he would block any attempts by Machar to restart negotiations. "We are committed to peace talks, but peace talks does not mean Sudan," he said. "We can go anywhere else." A truce signed in August and renewed last month had raised hopes of an end to a brutal 20-year war that killed tens of thousands of people and uprooted nearly 2 million more. "BACK TO OUR LAND" The truce gave the LRA until the end of January to gather their forces in two places in southern Sudan -- east of the Nile, on the Uganda border, and west, on the Congo border. But the rebels missed previous deadlines to assemble and both sides have accused each other of violations. On Wednesday, Otti said the LRA would never assemble, accusing the south Sudanese army of failing to stop Ugandan forces in Sudan attacking them as they tried to reach the eastern meeting point. Uganda denies attacking LRA fighters. He said unless Sudan gave better security guarantees, the group of LRA fighters east of the Nile might cross back into Uganda, reiterating a threat made by LRA delegates on Monday. The Ugandan army has vowed to restart the war against any LRA fighters trying to re-enter northern Uganda. "If we are really in need of crossing back, they (the army) can't stop us. If he (Bashir) does not want us in Sudan, we shall go back to our land," Otti said. But he said no orders had been given to do so. Aid agencies fear the LRA could cause chaos among an already traumatised population if they returned to Uganda. LRA fighters are notorious for killing civilians, slicing body parts off victims and abducting thousands of children. A Ugandan army spokesman in the north said the border was being closely monitored but no LRA had crossed into Uganda. "If they try, we shall hit them straight away," he said.
