World     

South Sudan signs ceasefire agreement with rebel group

Xinhua, February 29, 2012

• South Sudan government and a rebel movement have signed an agreement stipulating ceasefire and general amnesty for the movement's fighters and reintegrating them in the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) -- South Sudan's army.

  "A deal has been signed with South Sudan Liberation Movement which was led by George Athor," Atim Garang, a leading member of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), the ruling party in the south, told Xinhua by phone Tuesday.

  "The agreement stipulates granting the rebels the opportunity to be represented in the national government and at the local level in Jungolei and Upper Nile. Their fighters will also be integrated in the SPLA," he added.

  He further reiterated that the deal would help in bringing stability to South Sudan, revealing that there were ongoing negotiations with other armed groups to persuade them to put down their arms and join the newly born government in South Sudan.

  "We extend our hands to all the fighting groups to join the peace and contribute with us to building South Sudan. There are no logical reasons for fighting," he said.

  Late Gen. George Athor founded the South Sudan Liberation Movement in 2010 and engaged in armed confrontations with the SPLA in protest of what he regarded as forgery in the general elections which were held in South Sudan in 2010.

  Athor was killed in mysterious circumstances on Dec. 18, 2011 by an SPLA unit at Morobo County in South Sudan's Equatoria state.

   

Copyright © China.org.cn. All Rights Reserved