The leader of Ugandan rebel group the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), Joseph Kony, called for a meeting with over 1,000 people from the war-torn northern Uganda, Daily Monitor reported on Wednesday.

Nobert Mao, a top official in war-ravaged Gulu district said Kony called him and requested a meeting with conflict-affected people. "He first suggested meeting members of the community particularly those affected by the war," Mao said.

Mao said he was compiling a list which would include teachers and local people, adding "He (Kony) is very excited about the meeting and seems to be looking forward to it." No date has been set yet for the delegation dubbed Community Peace Convoy.

A delegation mainly composed of relatives of Kony and his top commanders has left Juba, south Sudan, aboard two Russian Antonov planes to meet the rebels who were hiding in Garamba National Park in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The meetings were part of confidence building measures agreed upon by the rebels and the government. They could pave way for an end to the 20-year-old war in the north.

The LRA has been fighting the Ugandan government for two decades. It has left tens of thousands of people dead and over 1.4 million others homeless in north Uganda.

Source: Xinhua