Iran Supports Egyptian-Libyan Initiative on Realizing Peace in SudanIran said on Wednesday that it supports a new peace initiative, proposed by Egypt and Libya, to help end Sudan's civil war.Iran welcomes any move to end the plight of the Sudanese people and boost national reconciliation in the country, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said. The new Egyptian-Libyan peace plan, put forward two weeks ago, calls for forming a transitional government including all political forces, an immediate cessation of all forms of hostilities and resuming peace talks to achieve national reconciliation in Sudan. Egypt and Libya proposed a five-point peace plan on the Sudan issue in 1999. The Sudanese government and the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA), an umbrella organization of the the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in the south and the opposition political parties in the north, have accepted the revised peace plan. Asefi also voiced Iran's readiness to offer whatever assistance it can to foster peace in Sudan and to invite all peace-loving nations to support settlement of Sudan's internal disputes through dialog. An end to political disputes and the establishment of peace and stability is a prelude to economic development in Sudan, he stressed, expressing hope that the Sudanese government and opposition parties move towards ending the 18-year civil war. Sudanese government forces have been fighting against the SPLA since 1983, which has been struggling for greater autonomy for the predominantly Christian and animist south. |
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