President Bashir welcomes South Sudan ceasefire agreement

Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir welcomed Tuesday the ceasefire agreement reached by the warring parties in South Sudan after two weeks of heavy fighting. In a speech on the occasion of the 58th anniversary of Sudan Independence Day, President Bashir said that Sudan is interested in the stability of South Sudan and the implementation of the ceasefire agreement brokered by the Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) of the East African countries. He expressed Sudan's full support to the efforts of IGAD to end the violence and resolve the conflict in South Sudan. Meanwhile, the Sudanese President congratulated the Armed Forces on its eradication of the rebellion in Eastern Mountains in South Kordofan and its recapturing to Aradaiba area. He stressed that these military operations are aimed for to repulsing the outlaws who are terrifying the citizens and endangering their lives and properties. Earlier, The IGAD organization, which leading mediation efforts in South Sudan, announced that the warring parties have agreed to end hostilities and start talks end the crisis. "President Salva Kiir Mayardit and Dr. Riek Machar agree on a cessation of hostilities and appoint negotiators to develop a monitored and implemented ceasefire," the bloc said in a statement. It added that both sides will send negotiators for peace talks to Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. South Sudan, which gained its independence after seceding from Sudan two years ago, has been embroiled in conflict that has increasingly been marked by reports of ethnically targeted violence. The UN announced Monday that more than a thousand people have died and at least 180,000 displaced since the fighting began two week ago, with some 75, 000 having taken refuge in UN bases in the country.