Army: End to hostilities could result in further obstacles for Sudan

KHARTOUM, Sept 23, 2003 (dpa) — The Sudanese army said Tuesday that cessation of hostilities in the country’s civil war could result in further obstacles and would not automatically lead to peace.

“We fear that cessation of hostilities would become another obstacle, that its implications will not differ from that of war,” a senior army officer said Tuesday.

Army spokesman Mohammed Beshir Suleiman in a statement to the state-run Sudan News Agency (SUNA) stressed that ongoing peace talks in Kenya should focus on resolving outstanding issues such as the number of forces and their redeployment.

He told the agency that the army wanted, and hoped to achieve, a comprehensive ceasefire.

The two sides to the talks, the government and southern rebel based SPLA agreed on Sunday to extend for another two months a truce they signed last February.

Suleiman welcomed the renewal of the truce saying it would narrow the gap in views and merge positions on military issues.