"I'm no terrorist", says Uganda rebel boss

NAIROBI, May 24 (Reuters) One of the world's most wanted rebel chiefs, Joseph Kony of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), has called for an end to his 20-year war with the Ugandan government in the first images of him seen for years.

''Most people do not know me ... I am not a terrorist,'' the elusive Kony said in the video obtained by Reuters today.

''I am a human being, I want peace also,'' he added in the lengthy clips of a meeting between the LRA leadership and the vice president of southern Sudan about three weeks ago.

The footage, taken in southern Sudan, was verified by sources in Uganda. It shows a meeting between the delegations of Kony and the vice president of southern Sudan, Riek Machar, where they pledge to end past fighting.

Machar said his former rebel Southern People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) was ready to mediate between the LRA and President Yoweri Museveni's government.

After the Kony-Machar meeting, news of which came out about a week ago, Museveni issued a statement saying he would guarantee the safety of Kony if he gives up his war.

But that has complicated efforts by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to bring him to justice.

Machar said the SPLM was not among those seeking to collaborate with the ICC warrant. And at the end of the meeting, he is seen handing Kony an envelope stuffed with cash.

''Twenty thousand dollars, ok? Buy food with it, not ammunition,'' Machar told Kony and his deputy Vincent Otti.

REUTERS SHR RK1850