Joseph Lago Nyanga, former South Sudan regional president, has predicted that a new rebellion will emerge in South Sudan if the two warring SPLM factions sign an unacceptable peace agreement in Addis Ababa.
The former president of the regional high executive council explained that the provisions in the proposed IGAD-brokered deal that there will be two separate armies and power-sharing could lead to the formation of a new insurgency in the country.
He pointed out the there were doubts surrounding the Addis Ababa Agreement in 1972 which later led to the insurgency in 1983. The veteran politician stressed that history may repeat itself in the upcoming peace agreement due to scepticisms and lack of political will between the two factions to reach a final peace deal.
Joseph Lagu was the leader of the southern movement ‘Anyanya One’ which rebelled against the central government in Khartoum before signing the 1972 Addis Ababa agreement. He served as President of the Southern Region of Sudan in the late 1970s and second vice president of Sudan until the toppling of Jaafar Nimeiri’s government in 1985.