KITGUM, Uganda (AFP) – The signing of a ceasefire due today by Ugandan rebels and the government to end a brutal 18-year war in the north of the country has been postponed, mediators said.

The text will now be signed by President Yoweri Museveni’s government and the rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) at a future date which has yet to be fixed, mediators told AFP in the northern town of Kitgum.

“A draft memorandum has been developed. However, there have been delays which cannot permit us to sign the memorandum,” the head of the mediating team, Betty Bigombe, told a press conference.

“We shall inform you on the new date and venue of the signing.”

Bigombe’s announcement came in the wake of intense negotiations to iron out the outstanding points left in the overall truce, which had been scheduled to be signed at 4:00 pm (1300 GMT) yesterday.

This will pave the way for an overall peace agreement in the east African country, where the two sides in the conflict held their first face-to-face only earlier this year.