Sudanese Govt. Urges Denouncement on Rebel AttacksThe Sudanese government has appealed to the international community to denounce the recent offensives by the rebels in the south of the country, the Sudan's foreign ministry said Friday.The ministry urged maximum pressure upon the rebels to force them to accept a comprehensive cease-fire. The recent military offensives by the rebels have let go another refugee floods, the ministry said in a press release. On May 25, it said, the Sudanese government announced a suspension of air strikes against the rebel-held areas to preserve lives and properties of the innocent civilians. "The government's decision was consistent with its permanent and declared policy of underlying the importance of a comprehensive cease-fire as means of ending civilian sufferings and facilitating a negotiated peaceful solution to the conflict of southern Sudan," it said. However the rebel movement in southern Sudan overlooked this gesture of goodwill and launched military offensives in regions which enjoyed peace and tranquillity for many years. The release said that the government of Sudan, while reiterating its commitment to cessation of air strikes, reserves the right to use all possible means, including air force to fight against the continued aggression by the rebels. "The government will make only limited use of air strikes against specific targets in the fighting zones, far from populated areas," the foreign ministry said. It is reported that in recent two weeks, the rebel Sudan People 's Liberation Army (SPLA) has claimed capture of several towns in Sudan's western Bahr el Ghazal Province and intensified fighting has displaced 57,000 people from their homes, many heading northwards. Just on June 2, Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir and the SPLA Chairman John Garang met at a regional summit held in Kenya's capital Nairobi but reached no cease-fire agreement. |
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