Photo: Olivier Chassot/United Nations

Displaced by fighting between government and rebels (file photo).

Addis Abeba — In a press statement issued on Wednesday, 19 December, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement - North announced that a delegation of the movement met with the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) last week.

The invitation from AUHIP followed after a meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council, which called on the government and the SPLM-N to work towards an 'immediate cessation' of all hostilities.

At the meeting, the SPLM-N expressed its 'readiness and unwavering commitment' for an immediate humanitarian cessation of hostilities and that the main priorities for the SPLM-N are to address the humanitarian situation and the protection of civilians.

Yaser Arman, the movement's secretary general, added that the SPLM-N proposed a cessation of all hostilities on humanitarian grounds as early as last year. He added that the ceasefire will create room for a healthy environment in which other issues can be addressed.

The secretary general added that the movement is ready to assist in establishing an effective buffer zone between Sudan and South Sudan, adding that the movement controls more than 40 percent of the border between the two countries.