Lord's Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony (file photo)

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has accused rebel leader Joseph Kony of not taking peace talks seriously, alleging that he killed his top deputy involved in the peace negotiations.

His comments follow numerous reports that Kony, the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, shot dead his deputy commander Vincent Otti in October, after accusing him of spying. The reports have not been independently confirmed.

President Museveni said Kony's alleged killing of Otti indicates that he is not ready for peace. He said that although Otti made his own mistakes, he did a lot for the peace talks.

Deserters who recently fled LRA hideouts in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo told of a dispute between Kony and Otti, and said Kony ordered his deputy's execution in early October.

Otti has not been seen or heard from since that time.

Other LRA representatives have said that Otti is sick or under arrest.

Both Kony and Otti are wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges stemming from alleged LRA atrocities in northern Uganda.

Twenty years of conflict in the region has killed thousands and at one point forced more than 1.5 million people into displaced persons camps. Many of those people have gone home since the government and the rebels reached a cease-fire last year.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.