Sudan: Government and Eastern rebels sign ceasefire as SPLM pulls out

The Sudanese government and rebels of the Eastern Front (EF) have signed a ceasefire and agreed on a framework for substantive peace talks to end a simmering civil conflict in east Sudan. An eastern peace deal is urgently needed, various observers in the region have warned, as the pull-out of SPLM/A forces might leave a power vacuum that could trigger renewed hostilities between the remaining armed groups and government forces and disrupt the region’s relative stability.