JUBA, Sudan, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Backers of a breakaway Sudanese general said they supported a South Sudan measure of secession as a cease-fire was signed with the government in Juba.
Military leaders with the Sudan Peoples' Liberation Army signed the cease-fire with supporters of breakaway Gen. George Athor, who allegedly was backed by the government in Khartoum.
Athor, a former top-ranking official in the SPLA, fought against government forces after losing an election in April 2010.
Brig. Gen. Michael Majur, who signed the agreement on behalf of the SPLA, said he welcomed Athor's "tireless effort" to bring about an agreement between warring factions in the south, the Sudan Tribune reports.
Maj. Gen. Abraham Thon, who signed the agreement for Athor, said the cease-fire was "an important step toward establishing peace in south Sudan".
Voters in South Sudan take to the polls in a Sunday referendum on self-determination. The measure for the oil-rich south is part of a comprehensive peace deal brokered in 2005 that ended years of civil war.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, wanted by the international courts for war crimes in Darfur, said he would respect the outcome of Sunday's referendum.
Human rights groups worry that attention given to the referendum is overshadowing ongoing atrocities in Sudan's troubled Darfur region, however. UPI
