The reclusive leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army kept Jan Egeland, UN under secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, waiting for two hours at Ri-Kwangba close to the Congolese border.

Just as the UN envoy’s retinue of advisers were beginning to wonder whether a week of frantic satellite-phone diplomacy was about to come unstuck, Mr Kony emerged.

Preceded by a column of comrades carrying plastic chairs — as well as their AK47s — Mr Kony, 44, finally emerged, shook hands with Mr Egeland and sat down for 20 minutes of talks.

Afterwards, looking nervous before a handful of journalists who had travelled to this remote corner of jungle, he said: “We talked about peace talks that are taking place in Juba,” referring to the capital of southern Sudan.

The meeting took place in the expectation of a breakthrough to hasten the end of the LRA’s 20-year campaign. But although laden with symbolism, there was little sign of promised concessions.

The LRA has waged one of Africa’s most brutal and bizarre civil wars.

Tens of thousands of people have died and almost two million people have been forced to flee their homes since Mr Kony took up arms in Uganda against a Government accused of neglecting northerners.

The former altar boy claimed to have been instructed by the Holy Spirit and once said that he wanted to govern northern Uganda according to the Ten Commandments. The LRA abducted thousands of children to fight in its ranks, and tortured opponents by cutting off their lips, arms or legs. Girls were kept as sex slaves.

Mr Kony, and four senior commanders, have been charged by the International Criminal Court with war crimes, including killing civilians, rape, and abducting children.

Peace talks have stalled repeatedly on this issue as rebel negotiators demand an amnesty to allow Mr Kony to leave hiding.

Yesterday’s meeting came after a frantic week of diplomacy following a public request that Mr Kony be allowed to meet Mr Egeland during a visit to Sudan.

Initially Mr Egeland said that such a meeting could only take place if the LRA agreed to a symbolic release of women and children. But after the meeting, Mr Kony insisted that his force had not abducted young people to fight. “We don’t have any children in our movement, there’s only combatants,” he said, his red eyes rolling wildly during only his third appearance before journalists.

Witnesses said that Mr Kony was erratic and rambling during the meeting as if he had taken drugs.

Later, before boarding a helicopter to return to Juba, Mr Egeland admitted that he had not been able to secure any releases. But he added: “For me it was a successful meeting because I have now brought to the highest levels of the LRA the need to do more to protect the civilian population and to return the people they have abducted.

“They have not promised much more than coming back before the end of the month on possibilities for that to happen.” The child army of the LRA may have kept millions of northern Ugandans living in fear for two decades, but today its fighters resemble a rag-tag, defeated force.

A few — dressed in green fatigues and wearing their hair in trademark dreadlocks — stood guard around mildewed sacks of grain and rice at the Ri-Kwangba assembly point.

The area is one of two set up under the terms of the August ceasefire where LRA fighters can congregate without fear of being attacked by Ugandan government troops.

Fighters wearing colourful T-shirts or tracksuits sat slumped on tree-stumps staring into space.

Some wore army boots but most preferred wellingtons to cope with the thick mud of Sudan after the rains.

The sweet, sickly smell of rotting food hung in the air, giving the simple collection of straw huts a sad, defeated air.

But Obonyo Olweny, a spokesman for the LRA, insisted that the force retained a fighting strength of 10,000 troops. “What makes you think we have been defeated?” he said. “It is just that we need peace now. There is no feeling of defeat or despondency.”

TWENTY YEARS OF TERROR

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