Unamid welcomes Sudan rebels’ extension of ceasefire

Unamid has welcomed the announcement by three armed rebel movements in Sudan to extended their cessation of hostilities in South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Darfur for another six months.

In a statement from Unamid headquarters in the North Darfur capital of El Fasher, the Mission lauded “the unilateral six-month cessation of hostilities jointly declared by, among others, the Sudan Liberation Army-Minni Minnawi (SLA-MM) and the Justice and Equality Movement-Gibril (JEM-Gibril), which entered into effect on 31 October 2016. Unamid has noted and welcomes the earlier announcement by President Omar Al Bashir on 10 October of a unilateral cessation of hostilities till the end of this year.”

“It is hoped that such gestures would encourage all parties to the conflict to commit to a negotiated solution…"

Although mindful of existing challenges, Unamid acknowledges the positive opportunity such a cessation of hostilities offers. “It is hoped that such gestures would encourage all parties to the conflict to commit to a negotiated solution, including through the signing of the cessation of hostilities document presented to the parties by the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) and in line with the Roadmap Agreement,” the statement continues.

Unamid’s Joint Special Representative, Martin Uhomoibhi, commended the declaration and used the opportunity to, "once again", call upon Abdelwahid El Nur, leader of the mainstream Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-AW), “to make a similar declaration to signal a genuine intent that peace is a strategic choice for him and his movement.

“Each other party to the conflict has made gestures to indicate willingness to engage in peace; now is the time for Mr. El Nur to make such a gesture,” Uhomoibhi added.

In this regard, he reiterated Unamid’s commitment to continuing to work for the achievement of its mandate to protect civilians in Darfur and creating a conducive environment for sustainable peace in the region.