(Adds Museveni quotes, U.N. Security Council, previous NAIROBI) By Dorcason Hunter KAMPALA, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Uganda's fugitive rebel leader Joseph Kony escaped an attack by regional armies and still hopes a peace deal can be struck to end one of Africa's longest running conflicts, a rebel spokesman said on Monday. Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan launched a joint assault on Kony's base in Congo on Dec. 14 after the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) failed again to sign an accord to end the two-decade war. LRA spokesman Matsanga said Kony had instructed him to tell the world he was ready to resume talks but at a neutral venue such as Tanzania or South Africa and under a new mediator to replace South Sudan's Vice President Riek Machar. Thousands of people have been killed and about two million displaced by the rebel group, infamous for mutilating its victims and kidnapping women and children. The self-proclaimed prophet and two of his deputies have been indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. But the elusive Kony wants the ICC arrests warrants dropped before he signs. Uganda's government has said it will ask the U.N. Security Council to suspend the warrants after the rebels lay down their arms but Kony remains suspicious. The 15-member council issued a statement on Monday backing the joint offensive against the LRA. The unanimous statement also condemned Kony's failure to sign the peace accord, as well as recent attacks by the LRA in Congo and southern Sudan. Matsanga said he had spoken to Kony a few days earlier and that the rebel leader was hiding "very near" Central African Republic, which borders Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo. "The entire LRA command is intact and was not destroyed by the operation," said Matsanga. "The LRA wants to reiterate its stand and reaffirm its total and unequivocal support for the peace process, despite the failed attacks on its forces in Garamba," he said, referring to a national park in eastern Congo. Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni said the operation had been successful and that Kony's main camp in eastern Congo had been destroyed in the Ugandan-led attacks. "We know where Kony is, generally speaking," Museveni told reporters in Kampala. "I would like to assure Ugandans that this is the end of Kony as the terrorist of Uganda," said Museveni. "I have no doubt that Kony will be defeated." (Additional reporting by Humphrey Malalo in Nairobi; Writing by Wangui Kanina; Editing by David Clarke and Katie Nguyen)
David Nyekorach Matsanga, leader of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) peace delegation, speaks during a news conference in Nairobi, December 22, 2008. Matsanga said on Monday Uganda's fugitive rebel leader Joseph ...
International Humanitarian Law
