Sudan to halt air strikes

The Sudanese Government says it is halting its air strikes against rebels in the south of the country and in the Nuba mountains.

An announcement on state radio said the move was intended to promote peace, and the government hoped for an immediate response from the rebels, and support from the international community.

The statement said that the ceasefire would come into force on Friday.

A spokesman for the rebel group the Sudanese People's Liberation Army dismissed the government statement as a lie.

The statement did say that the pledge would not violate "the rights of the armed forces to protect its members and their supply lines".

Nevertheless the armed forces backed the decision to end the bombing.

Sudan has been fighting a civil war for the past 18 years.

The war and the food shortages that have followed have left an estimated two million people dead.