Sudan’s rebels call for de-mining campaign, ‘ready to release all captives’

At New Year celebrations, organised by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) in the areas under its control in South Kordofan, the rebels called for support to clear the landmines in the war-torn state and in the Blue Nile. They also expressed their readiness to release all military captives.

The SPLM-N called on Sudanese, regional, and international organisations to intervene, and clear the states of South Kordofan and the Blue Nile of all the landmines, planted by government forces during the past four years of civil war.  

The spokesman for the SPLM-N negotiation team, Mubarak Ardol, told Radio Dabanga that the rebel movement is also “ready to conclude an agreement to release all captives and detainees of both sides, including imprisoned SPLM-N members, tried in Sudanese courts”.

He referred to the National Sa’ihoun Initiative (NSI), a group of Sudanese Islamists, who recently offered to mediate between the rebels and the government about the release of 20 government troops South Kordofan and the Blue Nile.

The ruling National Congress Party (NCP), however, last week said that that the NSI is not the appropriate party to broker the release of the captives. “Such a move is supposed to be based on direct political arrangements between the Sudanese government and the SPLM-N,” NCP’s political secretary stated.