Darfur armed group extends unilateral ceasefire for three months
September 3, 2019 (KHARTOUM) – A rebel umbrella gathering three factions in Darfur, Sudan Liberation Forces Alliance (SLFA), on Wednesday extended the unilateral cessation of hostilities for three months.
The extension of ceasefire intervenes few days after agreeing with three other groups: the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), headed by Gibril Ibrahim, Sudan Liberation Movement-Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM) and the SLM Traditional Council of Hadi Idriss to unify their negotiating position before to engage in talks with the transitional government in Khartoum.
The ceasefire extension is an initiative by the Sudan Liberation Forces to “show goodwill to build a new Sudan in which citizenship is the basis for rights and duties,” said the head of the alliance in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune.
The three-month unilateral cessation of hostilities “begins on 2 September and ends on 1 December 2019,” he further added before to calls on the SLFA military units to abide by the decision to stop hostilities except in self-defence.
On 27 June, JEM and SLM-MM signed in Ndjamenaa ceasefire with the deputy head of the Transitional Military Council, facilitated by Chadian President Idriss Deby.
In a briefing to the Security Council on 26 August, Jean Pierre Lacroix the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations said the situation in Darfur remains calm except some sporadic skirmishes in Jebel Marra with the SLM-Abdel Wahid.
In a related development, the Darfur Bar Association (DBA) announced on Tuesday that preparations are underway to convene a consultative meeting between civil society groups and armed groups in Darfur.
He DBA which is supportive for the armed groups said the meeting would be held in the South Sudanese capital Juba, but no date has been given.
The purpose of the meeting is to reach a common vision between the civil and armed groups contributing to finding effective solutions to public issues and problems at the local and national levels, said the statement.
(ST)