In a statement issued this afternoon by his spokesperson,  Ban also welcomed the six-month unilateral cessation of hostilities declared by the Sudan Revolutionary Forces in the Two Areas and Darfur on 28 April 2016.

“These commitments should ease the suffering of the people living in the affected areas,” said the statement, through which the UN chief also urged the parties to allow and facilitate urgently needed humanitarian access to these areas.

Further to the statement, the Secretary General reiterated his call for the parties which have not signed the Road-map proposed by the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) to do so, and to continue talks with the Sudanese Government and other parties engaged in dialogue inside Sudan to reach agreement on a process for final peace through inclusive national dialogue.