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The European Union (EU) on Friday called for the Government of Sudan and the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) to immediately stop hostilities in order to create a conducive atmosphere for negotiations to end the 18-year civil war. It also encouraged Kenya, in its capacity as chair of the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development (IGAD) committee for Sudan, to press ahead with its fellow IGAD members to reinvigorate the peace process, which has not made much progress so far.
In a press statement that reflected on the IGAD peace talks in Nairobi on 2 June, which were attended by both President Umar Hasan al-Bashir and SPLM/A leader John Garang, the EU called on both parties “to engage themselves in a continuous and sustained negotiation towards a just and lasting political settlement.” In this regard, the EU considered it “essential” that “a comprehensive ceasefire effectively monitored by observers accepted by both sides be promoted as a matter or urgency” within the IGAD process.
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