Rebels, government extend humanitarian ceasefire

Both the rebel SPLM/A and the Sudanese government extended their respective humanitarian ceasefires for three months last week. The SPLM/A announced the extension of a partial ceasefire in Bar el Ghazal, western Upper Nile (Bentiu and Panaru/Pariang areas) and Central Upper Nile (Bor, Fangak, Waat, Akobo and Pibor areas). It said it declared the ceasefire in order to “enhance access to populations in need of humanitarian assistance”. “It is not a comprehensive ceasefire which is part and parcel of the overall political solution to the war in the Sudan and which is one of the items contained in the Declaration of Principles (DoP) developed by the IGAD mediation process,” a statement from the SPLM/A said. “A comprehensive ceasefire in our view will be the result of progress in the peace talks and not vice-versa,” it added. The government, for its part, said it had also extended its to support peace efforts and allow humanitarian organisations to transport aid to people suffering from shortages of food and medicine in southern and eastern Sudan, the Associated Press (AP) reported. However on Saturday, the SPLA accused the government of bombing the rebel-held town of Yei in violation of the proclaimed ceasefire, AFP reported. “The bombing does not create a good climate for the [Nairobi] talks,” SPLA spokesman Samson Kwaje told the news agency on Sunday.