Agreement on 3 month extension of Bahr Al Ghazal, Sudan ceasefire

STATEMENT BY SERGIO VIEIRA DE MELLO UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR
I was pleased to learn from Ross Mountain, Assistant Emergency Relief Coordinator, who has held talks over the weekend with the parties in Nairobi and Khartoum, that the Government of Sudan and the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement have both agreed to extend the humanitarian cease-fire in the famine-stricken area of Bahr Al Ghazal for an additional three-month period.

The cessation of hostilities will enable the massive UN and NGO relief effort, Operation Lifeline Sudan, to continue its work unhindered by security considerations in Bahr Al Ghazal. This is particularly important now as the rainy season, when relatively little fighting takes place, comes to an end.

I remain concerned, however, over the continuing serious humanitarian situation elsewhere in Southern Sudan, particularly in Western Upper Nile, Bor County and Eastern Equatoria, and over the need for the intensive relief operation to continue until next year's harvest. I will continue to work closely with our humanitarian partners and others for a further extension of the cease-fire both in temporal and geographic scope.