Khartoum (AFP) - President Omar al-Bashir said Friday that conflicts roiling Sudan's Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile regions would end in 2016, the day after he offered rebels a two-month ceasefire to join a national dialogue.
Bashir, who is wanted on war crimes charges related to the conflict in Darfur, has been pressing efforts to launch a national dialogue he announced last January to address Sudan's myriad problems.
"The year 2016, God willing, will be the end of the insurgency and the security problems in Blue Nile, South Kordofan and Darfur," Bashir said at a meeting of the shura council of his ruling National Congress Party.
Khartoum has been battling rebels in Darfur since 2003, and the Sudan People's Liberation Army-North (SPLA-N) in South Kordofan and Blue Nile since 2011.
In his speech, Bashir said that "the insurgency in Darfur has ended" and that "the remnants" were sheltering in Libya and South Sudan, an allegation Sudanese officials have made previously.
Bashir's comments came a day after he offered rebels a two-month ceasefire and an amnesty to join talks.
The insurgents have yet to issue a response but they, along with most opposition groups, have previously said they will not attend because there is not a conducive atmosphere for the talks to take place.
Darfur erupted into conflict when ethnic insurgents mounted a campaign against the Arab-dominated Khartoum government, complaining of marginalisation.
Since 2003, tribal conflict and rising criminality in parts of the region have seen Darfur sink further into violence.
The SPLA-N rebelled against Bashir in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan states for similar reasons.
Some 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur and nearly 2.5 million displaced, the UN says, while the International Criminal Court has indicted Bashir for alleged war crimes committed during the conflict.
Newer articles:
- Soldiers In South Sudan Raped Children, Burned People Alive: UN - 25/08/2015 11:56
- Two Doctors Without Borders workers killed in South Sudan - 25/08/2015 10:15
- South Sudan’s Kiir to sign peace agreement on Wednesday - 25/08/2015 10:13
- South Sudan Budgeted $850 Million to Crush Rebels, UN Says - 23/08/2015 22:00
- South Sudanese simply want an end to civil war - 23/08/2015 10:20
Older news items
- 'We Come as Friends' opens a wide window into South Sudan - 21/08/2015 09:06
- South Sudan media blackout after reporter shot dead - 21/08/2015 08:25
- South Sudan day-long media blackout protests journalist's killing - 21/08/2015 08:02
- Journalist killed in South Sudan after president threatens reporters - 21/08/2015 03:37
- As South Sudan bloodies itself, Israeli arms sales questioned - 20/08/2015 17:26
Latest news items (all categories):
- Independent human rights investigators: Human cost of violence in South Sudan ‘continues to grow’ - 11/09/2026 10:43
- Displaced women build resilience through new livelihoods in Tambura - 11/09/2026 10:38
- Officially: Egypt lose their star for Angola and South Sudan clashes - 11/09/2026 10:36
- VP Nyandeng’s Critique And The Splintered Politics Of South Sudan - 09/09/2026 13:34
- UN rights Commission begins four-day South Sudan mission amid renewed conflict - 09/09/2026 13:25
Random articles (all categories):
- Sudan: Cholera outbreak Flash Update No. 4, As of 4 December 2023 - 05/12/2023 03:40
- South Sudan on the brink of collapse - 07/01/2014 22:08
- Swiss Abroad: life in South Sudan - 23/05/2023 10:31
- An open letter to Dr. Riek Machar - 31/07/2016 19:03
- DTM South Sudan — Flow Monitoring: EVD Preparedness May 2019 - 12/07/2019 07:07
Popular articles:
- Who is the darkest person in the world, according to Guinness World Record? - 25/10/2022 02:34 - Read 149536 times
- School exam results in South Sudan show decline - 01/04/2012 17:58 - Read 28108 times
- Top 10 weakest currency exchange rates in Africa in 2023 - 19/07/2023 00:24 - Read 25187 times
- No oil in troubled waters - 25/03/2014 15:02 - Read 24458 times
- NDSU student from South Sudan receives scholarship - In-Forum - 29/09/2012 01:44 - Read 22411 times
