South Sudan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Barnaba Marial Benjamin has denied that his country’s president arrived in Addis Ababa for peace negotiations with his rival Riek Machar.
President Salva Kiir had been invited by peace mediators to meet Machar in Addis Ababa ahead of a 17 August deadline that they set for signing a peace agreement.
According to a report by Al Sharq Al Awsat newspaper on Friday, corroborated by South Sudanese media reports, Barnaba said that Kiir is still in Juba.
Barnaba was quoted as saying that Kiir’s visit to Addis Ababa is contingent on progress in the negotiations.
Additionally, he accused Sudan’s President Omar al Bashir of obstructing the peace process, referring to alleged Sudanese support for South Sudanese rebels.
Barnaba claimed that dissident general Peter Gatdet and supporters were present in Khartoum, while questioning the relevance of a potential deal with Riek Machar given the strength of the breakaway faction based in Khartou.
Sudan is one of the members of the East African bloc of nations known as IGAD. Three special envoys from these East African countries, including one from Sudan, constitute the leadership of the mediation team that has been seeking since January 2014 to broker a deal to end the civil war in South Sudan.
File photo: President Salva Kiir and SPLA Chief of Staff Paul Malong at a parade in Juba