Sudan said on Sunday that it would immediately and unconditionally cease hostilities in its remote Darfur region, and asked the United Nations and African Union to request that rebel forces do the same.Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail, speaking after an emergency meeting with Western diplomats, UN and AU officials, said they did not however discuss withdrawing troops from towns the government has captured from rebels. ‘‘Yes, we will inform our forces in Darfur immediately to stop any fighting, so we will not fire unless we will be attacked by the other side,’’ said the minister.The AU had given Sudan a 24-hour deadline, which expired on Saturday evening, to stop hostilities or it would refer the matter to the UN Security Council. But fighting continued on Sunday morning. Ismail said the government had obeyed the AU deadline but rebels had attacked again, forcing the Army to retaliate and chase them into Labado town. The Army now holds Labado.A rebel delegate at peace talks, Justice and Equality Movement spokesman Ahmed Adam said Khartoum’s pledge should not be taken seriously because it has failed to keep promises in the past.
