A Sudanese rebel group has freed 127 people it had captured in fighting with government forces, according to the country's army.

Those released by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) included 109 soldiers and 18 civilians, Brigadier Ahmed Khalifa al-Shami, the army spokesman, said in a statement on Sunday.

"The Sudanese army recognises this as a positive step towards achieving peace in the country."

The SPLM-N had captured the prisoners in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states, where the group has been fighting Sudanese government forces for years.

It was not clear how long the prisoners spent in captivity.

In 2011, South Sudan gained independence from Sudan following a 2005 peace deal that ended Africa's longest-running civil war.

Excluded from deal

After a referendum, in which an overwhelming majority of South Sudanese voted to secede, Africa's newest country came into being, the first since Eritrea split from Ethiopia in 1993.

But South Kordofan and Blue Nile, whose residents predominantly wanted to become citizens of the new nation, were excluded from the deal.

The SPLM-N, the northern affiliate of SPLM in South Sudan, consequently took up arms against the Sudanese government of President Omar al-Bashir, and fighting has continued on and off ever since.

Fighting in the two areas, and in Darfur, have left tens of thousands of people dead and displaced millions.

Khartoum announced a unilateral ceasefire in June 2016 in all three conflict zones, which it extended by six months in January.

UN says that for years Blue Nile and South Kordofan have been no-go areas for aid officials, leaving thousands of people without access to humanitarian relief.</s>A prominent Sudanese rebel group has released 127 prisoners it had captured in fighting with government forces, most of them soldiers, the military said on Sunday. The rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) had captured the prisoners in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states, where the group has been fighting Sudanese government forces for years.

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The released prisoners include 109 soldiers and 18 civilians, army spokesman Brigadier Ahmed Khalifa al-Shami said in a statement.

“The Sudanese army recognises this as a positive step towards achieving peace in the country,” he said.

Ethnic minority rebels in Blue Nile and South Kordofan have been fighting government forces since 2011, accusing President Omar al-Bashir’s Arab-dominated government of politically and economically marginalising the two regions.

Fighting in the two areas and in Darfur have left tens of thousands of people dead and displaced millions.

Khartoum announced a unilateral ceasefire in June 2016 in all three conflict zones, which it extended by six months in January.

UN officials say that for years Blue Nile and South Kordofan have been no-go areas for aid officials, leaving thousands of people without access to humanitarian relief.</s>The African neighbours came close to war in April over territory and oil payments, the worst violence since South Sudan seceded under a 2011 peace deal which ended decades of civil war.

Both countries agreed in September to defuse hostilities but have failed to implement several agreements brokered by the African Union to set up a buffer zone to secure the border and restart oil exports from the South through Sudan.

South Sudan has accused Sudan of holding an unspecified number of prisoners since several weeks of fighting in April along the disputed 2,000 km (1,300 miles) border.

Sudan's military spokesman al-Sawarmi Khalid told SUNA the army would hand over the soldiers on Monday to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Nyala in Darfur in western Sudan.

The five soldiers, which SUNA named on its website, were captured trying to infiltrate into South Darfur state, which borders South Sudan, "mid-last year", he said. SUNA gave no exact date.

South Sudanese officials were not immediately available to comment.

Sudan called on South Sudan to release all Sudanese soldiers in captivity, SUNA said. It did not say how many soldiers Sudan believes are being held in the South, naming only one officer who it said had been imprisoned in Juba for more than two years.

South Sudan's army released 13 Sudanese soldiers after the end of fighting in April.

South Sudan shut down its oil output of 350,000 barrels a day a year ago in a row with Sudan over pipeline fees, throwing both economies into turmoil. (Reporting by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Jon Hemming)</s>Sudanese prisoners of war queue to board an International Committee of the Red Cross plane to Uganda after being released by the rebels in South Kordofan. MOHAMMED AMIN | NATION MEDIA GROUP

Sudanese rebels Saturday announced the release of more than 130 government soldiers captured in the battles in South Kordofan.

In a press release extended to the Africa Review, the rebels of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/ Northern sector (SPLM-N) confirmed that the prisoners of war had been received by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and transported by a helicopter belonging to the international organisation.

SPLM-N further pointed out that South Sudan and Uganda had facilitated the transportation of the war prisoners.

"SPLM-N has handed over more than 130 prisoners of war to the Red Cross in line with the goodwill announced by the SPLM-N leadership,’’ the statement read.

"They have been transported today to Uganda through South Sudan and they will be handed over to Sudan,’’ it added.

The statement said Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni had appreciated the gesture and the facilitation by Sudan and South Sudan to enable ICRC to transport the war prisoners to Uganda through the international corridors.

A handing over proposed by SPLM-N last year did not materialise.

SPLM-N last year announced an initiative to hand over government prisoners of war, but the two sides have traded accusations over the failure of the process.

The Sudanese army did not immediately react to the rebels’ unilateral move.

However, the rebels have repeatedly decried the ceasefire violations by the government forces.

The warring parties have failed to achieve any breakthrough in the negotiations in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, under the mediation of the African Union.
The Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North releases 127 prisoners from captivity, mostly troops of the Sudanese military.