Paride Taban, a leader in the Catholic Church and deputy chairman of South Sudan’s national peace and reconciliation commission, says that Jonglei rebel leader David Yau Yau will join peace talks rather than uniting forces with the newly emerged opposition forces in the state.
The peace commission deputy chairman said on Sunday said the rebel leader David Yau Yau confirmed he was not joining any movement, but ready for peaceful negotiations.
Torit Emeritus Catholic Bishop Paride Taban told the congregation at Christ the King Cathedral in Yei that Yau Yau stopped fighting and was committed to peace.
He disapproved rumours that Yau Yau joined the political violence that happened in Juba and spread to other parts of the country, referring to earlier unfounded reports that Yau Yau would unite with the 8th Division defectors in attacking Bor.
Yau Yau and his force have been active in Jonglei based out of Pibor County, but implicated in attacks elsewhere in the state. He did not respond to an offer of amnesty made by the president earlier this year, and is still at large.
Report by Sudan Catholic Radio Network