South Sudanese rebel general Peter Gadet said Sunday he would continue to fight because the peace agreement between president Salva Kiir and first vice president Riek Machar does not address the root cause of the war.
“Which peace?” asked Gadet in an interview on Sunday from Khartoum. “There is no peace. The going of Riek Machar to Juba is a not a guarantee for peace. The peace our people want is a comprehensive peace, a peace which addresses the root cause of the war.”
“The war was not because Riek was removed from his position as the vice president and for him to return to the government. It was because people were killed,” he said. “When Salva Kiir removed Riek [in July 2013], did you see people taking arms? People took arms because people were killed for no reason [in Juba].”
“Now these issues have not been addressed by the peace which Riek Machar and his group have signed with the government. This was why I refused the peace they signed because it did not address the root cause of the war,” Gadet said.
Gadet said he would continue to champion the cause of war until a comprehensive peace agreement is reached or when president Kiir and his deputy in the unity government Riek Machar relinquish power and allow a third party to take the leadership from them.
“Salva Kiir and Riek can never unite the country. They are the cause of this division and never can the same people reconcile and unite the country. It cannot happen,” he said.
“Where can the people who fought each other be the judge of their own case?” he asked. “I have never heard before, and it will be new thing if it happens in South Sudan.”