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President Omar al-Bashir's statements come a few weeks after the extension of the ceasefire in two states, where troops and paramilitaries are fighting rebels.
Omar Hbadan al-Bashir. AFP
KHARTOUM (AP) – Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who has faced protests against his three-decade-long regime, is committed to promoting peace in the country's war zones. an address to paramilitary units on Wednesday.
"I badure you that the year 2019 will be the year of peace in Sudan," said the president to the Popular Forces (PDF), a paramilitary unit widely used to fight against long-standing rebellions in Darfur. and in areas close to the Southern Sudan Border.
"We want to keep our weapons completely silent," said Bashir, wearing a military uniform.
His remarks came a few weeks after the prolongation of the ceasefire in the Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan states, where troops and paramilitaries were fighting rebels linked to South Sudan before independence.
"We want you to go to war zones, not to fight, but to build schools and health centers," said Bashir.
The paramilitaries of the PDF are civilians, many of whom are young students. Before the breakup of South Sudan in 2011, they played a major role in the violent civil war that lasted for decades against the independence movement.
The PDF also fought in the western region of Darfur, Sudan, where ethnic minority rebels took up arms in 2003, prompting a government backlash that prompted the international criminal court to bring charges of war crimes.
The president has repeatedly denied the charges, which also include genocide and crimes against humanity.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed in all three conflicts and millions of displaced people, despite the long-standing deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping force and the African Union in Darfur .
Since December, Bashir, 75, faces almost daily protests in the heart of Sudan, demanding his resignation. Analysts believe that the biggest challenge to face for his reign in the iron hand since he came to power in 1989, during a coup d'etat.
According to officials, 30 people died in violence related to the demonstrations. Human Rights Watch said that at least 51 people were killed.
The anger that had been rising for years in the face of growing economic difficulties and the deterioration of living conditions has swamped the streets under the slogan: "Freedom, peace, justice!"
Bashir remained provocative, insisting that the ballot box is the only way to change the government and promising to run for a third term in an election scheduled for next year.
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