Sudan extends ceasefire in 3 conflict areas
Sudanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ibrahim Ghandour, speaks during a press conference on January 14, 2017, in the capital Khartoum. The US President on January 13, 2017 informed Congress that he will lift trade and investment sanctions against Khartoum after a six-month probation period. AFP photo
Sudan on Sunday extended a ceasefire for six months in the war-torn regions of Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan, official media said.
"The cabinet headed by President Omar al-Bashir decided to extend the ceasefire by six months," Sudan's official news agency reported.
In June, Bashir declared a unilateral four-month truce in the three regions, where fighting between government forces and rebels has killed tens of thousands of people.
He extended it in October to the end of the year and again for a month on December 31.
The conflict in Darfur -- a region of the size of France -- erupted in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against Bashir's Arab-dominated government, accusing it of marginalising the region.
Similar conflicts also erupted in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states after neighbouring South Sudan broke away in 2011.
At least 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced in Darfur since the conflict began, the UN says.
