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Sudanese rebels have reacted with scepticism to an announcement by President Omar Bashir ordering the army to halt air strikes in rebel-held areas of southern Sudan.
In a television broadcast on Wednesday, Bashir said all aerial
bombardments should stop except in the event of "self-defence [or]...where forces are engaged in combat, and where there is active operation in order to protect civilians". He also called on the international community to put pressure on the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) to stop it using civilian areas as military zones.
In response, SPLA spokesman Samson Kwaje told IRIN on Thursday the president's declaration "proved a policy of bombing civilian targets in the south which the government had denied up until the announcement". He said Lui hospital in Western Equatoria had been bombed last Friday, and Tali, near Mundri, on Sunday.
"We are sceptical of this announcement...because the government of Sudan has proved dishonourable in all its declarations," he said.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions