The Jieng (Dinka) Council of Elders (JCE) said Wednesday it is exerting efforts to defuse the ongoing tension between President Kiir and his former army chief of staff in Juba.

Ambrose Riiny Thiik, the former chief justice and now chairman of the Dinka Council of Elders, told Radio Tamazuj that elders together with church leaders and eminent personalities are working to normalize the situation.

“Since Friday evening last week, the council has taken several initiatives to calm down the situation as the priority. We have talked to both President Salva Kiir and Gen. Paul Malong and the result of these initiatives is why there is calm now. Nobody wants confrontation, so this situation needs to be addressed carefully,” said Riiny.

Riiny further said brothers could disagree but would always resolve their differences amicably. “Brothers can disagree and quarrel but would always remain one. The factors that unite us are much greater than those that seek to divide us,” he said.

Over the weekend, government troops surrounded Malong’s house in Juba and unsuccessfully attempted to disarm his bodyguards. An armed standoff continues outside his house.