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Sudanese Official Urges Rebels to Declare Ceasefire
A senior Sudanese official on Friday urged the southern rebels to declare a ceasefire with the government following their acceptance of an Egyptian-Libyan peace initiative on ending an 18-year civil war in Sudan.
"The most important step after both the opposition and government approved the Egyptian-Libyan peace initiative is to declare a ceasefire jointly," Abdel Basit Sidrat, political advisor for Sudanese President Omar Hassan el-Bashir, told the Cairo-based Voice of Arabs radio over phone from the Sudanese capital Khartoum. "Within the coming few days, Egypt and Libya will receive the reply of the Sudanese government and opposition to the proposals, which would be discussed primarily in a peace conference, to be held soon," Sidrat added.
The nine-point proposals focus on Sudan's unity and integrity, citizenship rights and fair sharing of power and wealth of the country, he said, adding that "it is important that a meeting of the joint Egyptian-Libyan higher committee will start on Saturday."
He also spoke highly of Egypt's role in promoting peace in Sudan, saying that Egyptian Prime Minister Atef Obeid's scheduled visit to Sudan would enhance bilateral ties.
Hopes for ending the civil war and achieving political reconciliation in Sudan loomed after all sides offered acceptance of the Egyptian-Libyan peace plan.
Pagan Amum, secretary general of the Sudanese opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA), told reporters here on Thursday that "We have accepted the joint peace plan. Certainly, it means that we are ready to go to a peace conference," a key proposal in the peace plan.
NDA has acted as an umbrella organization of the rebel Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in the south and northern opposition.
On Tuesday, Sudan's ruling National Congress Party (NCP) led by President Bashir decided to accept the initiative and called on the opposition parties to accept the plan and submit their responses quickly.
Last week, Egypt and Libya put forth a new reconciliation plan for Sudan, which calls for resuming the peace process, forming a transitional cabinet of all political forces, specifying date and arrangements of new general elections, and an immediate cessation of all forms of hostilities.
In l999, Egypt and Libya launched an initiative that called for a national conference, to be attended by the Sudanese government, all opposition groups in the north and SPLA in the south, to put an end to the protracted civil war.
The Sudanese government forces have been fighting with the SPLA since 1983, which has been struggling for greater autonomy for the predominantly Christian and animist south.
The SPLA has recently captured a number of key towns in the southern Bahr el-Ghazal region. In the light of SPLA's continued attacks, the Sudanese government has warned that the government forces will resume air strikes in the south, a move suspended in May.
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