Darfur holdout group considers ending unilateral ceasefire: spokesperson

October 9, 2019 (KHARTOUM) – The General Command of the Sudan Liberation Army led by Abdel Wahid al-Nur (SLA-AW) accused the Sudanese government forces of attacking its position and called on its leadership to end the unilateral cessation of hostilities.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the holdout group said the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacked their forces based in Oro locality of in Jebel Marra area on 2 October 2019.

The group military spokesperson Walid Abkar aka “Tongo” said they repelled the “cowardly attack and inflicted heavy losses of lives and materiel on the assailants”.

Tango further said that the RSF attacked the civilians in the government-controlled area, after their assault on their position, adding they looted more than 300 cattle and terrorized the villagers.

“We deplore these repeated brutal attacks on unarmed civilians, and we will ask our leadership to reconsider the decision to unilaterally cease hostilities, to which we remain committed to this moment,” he said.

The (SLA/AW) declared a three-month unilateral ceasefire from 20 September to 18 December 2018 to allow humanitarian access to areas affected by landslides in Jebel Marra.

However, the rebel group which refuses to engage peace talks with the government clashed several times with the government forces in Jebel Marra.

Recently, the group leader who resides in France met with the Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok but he declined his call to negotiate a peace agreement with the government.

The other armed groups in Darfur region say committed to negotiating a peace agreement before the end of the year.

(ST)