This archive report was first published on 17 October 2019.
On October 16, 2019, Sudan's ruling sovereign council announced a permanent ceasefire in the country's war zones, even as a key rebel group threatened to pull out of peace talks.
The ceasefire declaration was made by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the chief of Sudan's ruling sovereign council, in a statement released late on Wednesday.
"General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has announced a permanent ceasefire to show that the government is committed to peace," the sovereign council said in a statement.
"The ceasefire is valid from the signing of this declaration."
However, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N), a key rebel group, has threatened to pull out of peace talks unless the government withdraws from an area in the Nuba mountains.
The group accused government forces of bombing its territory despite an unofficial ceasefire that had been in place since April, when President Omar al-Bashir was ousted in a palace coup.
According to the SPLM-N, government forces had kept up attacks on its territory for the past 10 days, despite the unofficial ceasefire.
The peace talks, which were launched on Monday, are being held in Juba, South Sudan's capital, and are aimed at resolving the conflict in Darfur, Blue Nile, and South Kordofan states.
The conflict has left hundreds of thousands of people dead and millions displaced, severely impacting Sudan's economy.
