Sudan extends 6-month cease-fire in line with US deal

By Mohammed Amin

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) - Sudan announced on Sunday that it was extending a six-month cease-fire in the country’s warring regions.

Sudan has agreed to bring peace to Darfur, south Kordofan, and the Blue Nile within six months as part of a five-track deal between Washington and Khartoum which includes the lifting of two decades of economic sanctions from Sudan.

Sudanese Cabinet spokesman Omer Mohamed Salih told reporters that the council decided to extend the cease-fire for six months in order to pave the way for peace and stability in the country.

“The Cabinet at its meeting today decided to implement Sudan’s commitments to the five-track agreement honestly and transparently and ordered all the related organs of the state to deal seriously with this matter,” he added.

The deal includes taking action against terrorism, supporting peace in neighboring South Sudan, bringing peace to Sudan, allowing humanitarian access to the war-areas of the country, and supporting the efforts to combat the Ugandan rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).

Washington's Friday executive order to ease the sanctions is, however, conditional, giving Khartoum up to six months to show a full commitment to several issues.

Under the decision, U.S. citizens will also be able to transact with individuals and entities in Sudan, and the property of the government of Sudan subject to U.S. jurisdiction will be unblocked.