Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, facing a possible indictment by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Darfur, has announced a unilateral ceasefire in the region.
But an important Darfur rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement, called the announcement a 'PR exercise' and vowed to fight on until a proper ceasefire deal was reached.
The move by Mr Bashir, accused in July by the ICC chief prosecutor of masterminding a campaign of genocide in Darfur, marks the latest push by the Sudanese government to persuade the UN Security Council to suspend any ICC warrant.
'I hereby announce our immediate unconditional ceasefire between the armed forces and the warring factions, provided that an effective monitoring mechanism is put into action and observed by all involved parties,' Mr Bashir said in a speech.
He also pledged to launch a campaign to disarm militias in the vast region in Sudan's west, where international experts estimate that 200,000 people have died and 2.5m have been displaced since the conflict between the government and mostly African rebels flared in 2003.
Khartoum puts the death toll at 10,000 people.
Rebels and human rights groups accuse the government of arming Arab militias and disarming them has long been a demand of rebels and Western powers. Khartoum calls the militias bandits.
In announcing the ceasefire, Mr Bashir was adopting the recommendation of the Sudan People's Initiative - a platform of government and opposition figures he launched last month.
Rebel groups boycotted the event.
The president, however, did not promise to release political prisoners from Darfur, another recommendation by the forum.
A spokesman for the JEM rebels, said Mr Bashir was trying 'to fool everybody' with his unilateral proposal.
He said JEM 'in principle' was not against a ceasefire, but a truce could only survive if reached through serious talks involving UN and African Union mediators.
