Parties to talks exchange accusations as North Sector puts condition for cessation of hostilities

Khartoum-The SPLM-North has announced readiness to cease hostilities and participate in the constitutional national dialogue if the confidence building measures are provided, war stopped and all political powers and civil society organizations are involved in a balanced dialogue.

The SPLM-North has accused the government of launching a wide scale aerial and land attack on its areas, and of exercising ethnic cleansing against the Nuba people. The SPLM-north has described the government delegation of as not serious toward the current talks in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.

The official spokesperson of the SPLM delegation Mubarak Ardol said in a statement on Wednesday that the government showed its lack of seriousness in these talks, referring to the wide attack on Al-Rashad and Al-Abasia that displaced more than 70.000 citizens, destroyed the facilities of the civil life including the water pumps and wells. He considered these acts as war crimes under the international humanitarian law.

He announced readiness of the SPLM to “cease hostilities immediately and send humanitarian assistances”, saying that they called for cessation of hostilities from Blue Nile to Darfur to pave the way before a constitutional national dialogue conference.

H pointed out that the government speaking on the TV that the militias of the Rapid Support Forces have started a biggest ethnic campaign in th4 Nuba Mountains is a clear indication to the ethnic cleansing.

He expressed sorrow that the genocide taking place in the areas of Al-Kawalib comes in a time that two persons from these areas (Lieutenant General Giraham Omer and Major General Mohamed Markazu) are participating in the government delegation. He said the government delegation threats to return to Khartoum as an indication of lack of seriousness and inability to introduce solutions.

The government side has claimed that the SPLM delegation has not attended the meeting with the African mediation mechanism and the government delegation scheduled to take place at the premises of the negotiations in Addis Ababa on Wednesday at 9.a.m.

The spokesperson of the government delegation said that the SPLM delegation requested to postpone the meeting in order to reply to the mediation document, considering the move as reluctance by the SPLM.

However, the spokesperson of the SPLM-North Mubarak Ardol said that they did not receive any invitation from the high-level mechanism on witnessing morning meeting, saying that” we have agreed with the mechanism on a meeting on Wednesday at 5 p.m”.