Sudan: Ceasefire extended in Darfur, Blue Nile, and South Kordofan

Event

On Thursday, July 12, President Omar Al-Bashir and his cabinet issued a decree extending the ceasefire currently in effect between the government army and rebel troops in the war-torn regions of Darfur, Blue Nile, and South Kordofan through December 2018. The decision comes two weeks before the US plans to lift a 20-year-old trade embargo on Sudan.

Context

The truce, originally declared in 2015, had already been extended several times, most recently in March.

The Darfur region, located in the west of the country, is affected by extremely poor security conditions. Fighting between rebel groups and government forces has been ongoing since 2003. Despite various peace agreements, the number of rebel groups in the region continues to grow, fueling violence and creating one of the most alarming humanitarian crises in the world. Ethnic clashes are also increasingly frequent.

The security situation is similar in the south of the country along the border with South Sudan, where confrontations between SPLM-N rebels - the group that sparked the Sudanese civil war and the subsequent independence of South Sudan - and the government are regularly reported in South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

Advice

Many Western governments advise against nonessential travel to Sudan and against all travel to certain regions, including the five Darfur states, South Kordofan, Blue Nile, certain areas of North Kordofan, the Djebel Ouanat region, Dinder National Park, and Sennar state. Due to a high risk of terrorist activity, always be on guard when visiting sites that are potential terrorist targets (public transportation, train stations, ports, airports, public or government buildings, embassies or consulates, international organizations, schools and universities, religious sites, markets, hotels and restaurants frequented by foreigners/Westerners, festivals, etc.).