Rebel leader mocks Sudan’s ceasefire extension

President Omar Al Bashir’s extension of the government's unilateral ceasefire for a month in the war-torn regions of Darfur, South Kordofan, and the Blue Nile is only a cover for new fighting, says Dr Jibril Ibrahim, head of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

“The Sudanese Air Force never stopped bombing Jebel Marra, the Blue Nile, and the Nuba Mountains [in South Kordofan],” he stressed. “And the government forces have never stopped their military actions.

“Al Bashir’s announcement of an extension of the ceasefire is a cover for renewed fighting or for something else, as the government forces are still operating on the ground.

In his speech on 31 December, on the occasion of Sudan’s Independence Day, President Al Bashir announced the extension of both a unilateral ceasefire and the National Dialogue for one month.

This week, in a meeting with political groups that recently joined the National Dialogue, the president renewed his call to the leaders of the civil and armed opposition abroad to join the Dialogue in Khartoum. He pledged them full guaranty that they would not be detained, and stressed that the National Dialogue, he proposed in January 2014, is the only way to resolve the various crises in Sudan.

Al Bashir also stressed his government's commitment to implement the Dialogue’s outcomes.