The Sudanese government, on Thursday called on the rebels of the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) to “lay down their arms, give priority to the voice of reason, and return negotiation and dialogue in order for the country to reliance and achieve peace and stability as well as sustainable development”.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony of Sudan National Service Cadets in Singa, representative of the Sudanese presidency and the Minister of Youth and Sports, Seddiq Mohamed Toum Hamed Elnair , said that the decision to halt South Sudan’s oil from flowing through Sudanese oil pipelines and facilities, which was announced by President Omar Al Bashir was “a deliberate decision and carefully studied to prevent the oil revenues being used to fund weapons that can be used to hit Sudan.”

Minister Toum asserted that “regime change will not come at the hands of those who murder their own people and carry out the agenda of other countries”. He urged all who carry arms against the government, to “seek for peaceful means, rather than implementing foreign concepts, and goals”.

“What we have seen from the graduating cadets indicates that Sudan is locked and fortified,” Minister Toum said, and called on the armed forces, irregular forces, and National Service Cadets to protect their homeland on the various battlefronts”.

Across the Atlantic, in New York on Friday, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Baroness Valerie Amos, said she has received a letter from the SRF with a proposal for a “temporary cessation of hostilities”.

As Baroness Amos briefed the UN Security Council on her visit to Sudan and Darfur from 20 to 23 May, she said that the SRF has informed her that it is willing to cooperate with the African Union and UN to negotiate a ceasefire “to allow humanitarian and aid organisations to reach the 4.4 million civilians who need assistance in Sudan”.