Kampala — THE International Criminal Court has reacted angrily to President Yoweri Museveni's overture of peace to Joseph Kony, saying it expects Uganda to meet its obligation to arrest the leader of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army.

Kony is wanted for war crimes by the court, but on Tuesday evening, while meeting with British overseas development minister Hilary Benn, President Museveni said the rebel leader had until the end of July to end the war peacefully.

But the ICC says Uganda referred the case to the court and must honour their commitment to arrest Kony.

The LRA has abducted thousands of children in the north.

"It's the government of Uganda that referred the situation to the International Criminal Court in December 2003... they are now under obligation and made a commitment," the court's spokesperson Sandra Khadouri told the BBC's Network Africa programme.

According to a press release from Uganda's State House, during a meeting with British overseas development minister, Hilary Benn, the Ugandan president said the rebel leader had until the end of July to end the war peacefully.

"If he got serious about a peaceful settlement, the government of Uganda would guarantee his safety," the statement added.

But Ms Khadouri said the charges against Kony and four other LRA commanders were "serious international crimes".

These included "murders, abductions, mass burning of houses, looting of entire villages, massive destruction, enslavement and inducement of rape", she said.

Britain and America too say that the court indictments must be enforced. Jendayi Frazer, the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, said on Tuesday that Kony and other LRA leaders had to be captured and handed over to the court. "It is a priority of President Bush to get rid of the LRA by the end of this year," he said.

Hilary Benn, the British International Development Secretary, said: "I have made it clear that the warrants for the arrest of the five would need to be enforced. They would need to come to The Hague to be tried."

The United Nations says 25,000 children have been abducted by the LRA since the rebellion began, to be used as sex slaves or to fight against the UPDF.

"The governments of Uganda, Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo are under a legal obligation to cooperate with the ICC," Ms Khadouri said.

Past attempts to negotiate an end to the war have failed, with both the Ugandan government and the rebels being accused of lacking commitment to peace talks.

The LRA has been weakened by the military offensive, but in recent months, the rebels have spread across southern Sudan and into DR Congo.

Meanwhile, some displaced Ugandans are returning home, but sporadic attacks in northern Uganda continue to keep some 1.5 million people in squalid camps.

The LRA has waged war against the Uganda government for two decades and began targeting foreigners last year -- apparently in reprisal for arrest warrants issued in October for their leaders' arrest by the International Criminal Court.