KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) – The Ugandan government and Lord’s Resistance Army rebels agreed Saturday to a truce aimed at bringing an end to a brutal 19-year conflict that has left thousands dead, officials said.

The truce, reached during peace talks in Juba in southern Sudan, is to go into effect at 2 a.m. EDT Tuesday, officials said. Both sides agreed to lay down arms while negotiators work on a more detailed peace deal and permanent cease-fire to end one of Africa’s longest-running wars.

“We are happy, and now we will continue working for a comprehensive peace agreement,” Ugandan government spokesman Paddy Ankunda said by telephone from Juba.

Martin Ojul, head of the Lord’s Resistance Army delegation, signed the document but could not immediately be reached for comment Saturday. Uganda’s Interior Affairs Minister Ruhakana Rugunda and South Sudanese Vice President Riek Machar also signed the truce.

“We hope the two principals can now take action so that the guns can go silent,” said Machar, whose government in Sudan’s autonomous southern region is mediating the peace process.

Under the terms of the truce, both sides agreed to a cessation of hostilities as negotiations continue on a full-fledged cease-fire that will include demobilization, disarmament and the reintegration of troops.

Starting Tuesday, rebel leaders will have three weeks to order fighters scattered throughout northern Uganda to lay down arms and to gather at two assembly points in southern Sudan – monitored by southern Sudanese forces – where they will be given food, Ugandan government officials said. They also will have a guarantee of safe passage from Uganda to southern Sudan.

The Lord’s Resistance Army is made up of the remnants of a rebellion launched after President Yoweri Museveni took power in 1986. Thousands of civilians have died since the rebels took up arms, and 1.7 million people have fled their homes, relief groups say. The rebels are estimated to have between 500 and 5,000 fighters.

The rebels have no clear political agenda and do not have control of any Ugandan territory. In the past, rebel leader Joseph Kony has called for Uganda to be governed according to the Ten Commandments.

But last month, representatives at peace talks said they wanted to draw attention to the government’s neglect of northern and eastern Uganda.

The rebels are known to abduct children and force them to become fighters, servants or sex slaves. The International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, wants to try top rebel officials – including Kony – on charges including murder, rape and forcibly enlisting children.

However, the Ugandan government has offered them amnesty if the peace talks in Juba are successful, promising not to hand them over to the U.N. war-crimes court.

Talks between the two foes began in Juba in July, but disagreements led to delays and walkouts by both sides.

The government earlier refused to consider a cessation of hostilities, citing abuse of previous cease-fires by the rebels. But on Friday, it reversed its position and agreed to consider a truce. The two sides still must agree on assembly points in southern Sudan.

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir said at a news conference after closed-door talks with Museveni that if the peace process fails, both Ugandan and South Sudanese forces would fight the rebels.