Sudan’s president declares four-month unilateral cessation of hostilities
June 17, 2016 (KHARTOUM)- The Sudanese President Omer Hassan al-Bashir declared on Friday a four-month unilateral cessation of hostilities in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan states.
The ceasefire, which will take effect at one minute past midnight on Saturday, “comes as goodwill gesture to give an opportunity for the rebel movements that did not sign the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur to lay down arms and to join the peace process in Sudan,” further said the official Sudan News Agency (SUNA).
Also, the truce renews the call of the President of the Republic for all the political forces and armed movements to join the national dialogue process before the general assembly of the national dialogue which will be held on the 6th of August, SUNA stressed.
The unilateral cessation of hostilities intervenes as the armed groups and their allied political forces are holding a meeting in Addis Ababa to discuss the way forward after their rejection of the Roadmap Agreement last March.
On 28 April 2016, Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) declared a six- month unilateral cessation of hostilities, and urged African Union mediators to organize a meeting with the government to make it effective .
Last September before the national dialogue general assembly of 10 October 2015, the Sudanese president issued a republican decree declaring a truce for two months in the two areas and Darfur region and granted general amnesty for the armed movements that would join in the national dialogue conference.
(ST)