A summit of the Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Heads of State and Government is due to kick off today in Ethiopia, with the South Sudan crisis top on the agenda.
President Salva Kiir and his former Deputy Riek Machar are also expected to meet on the sidelines of the summit to discuss the nation’s ten month civil war.
Sources suggested that the upcoming meeting between Kiir and Machar aims to address the question of what powers the proposed prime minister would have in a transitional government.
Meanwhile, consultations among the warring parties and other stakeholders have been continuing in Addis Ababa, without representation of the Political Parties Leadership Forum, a group blocked by the South Sudanese SPLM-Juba faction from participating by denying them permission to leave Juba.
Lam Akol, the leader of Political Parties Leadership Forum (PPLF) claimed that the government obstructed their meeting with the IGAD peace mediation team last week. IGAD had sent representatives to Juba to facilitate intra-PPLF talks.
Akol said the government wants to exclude the political parties from the peace talks, which he said has a negative impact on peace prospects. He added that the government is not serious about the ongoing peace negotiations.
File photo: IGAD leaders at a summit in March