South Sudan’s Minister of Information and Broadcasting, and spokesman of their delegation at the talks in Addis Ababa, says that the Machar delegation refused to include Nasser town in the areas to be monitored by ceasefire observers. 

Nasser town in eastern Upper Nile is held by the opposition and was the locus of much opposition coordination and recruitment ahead of the latest assault on Malakal starting nearly two weeks ago.

Makuei said in an interview with Radio Tamazuj on Friday that the two parties at the negotiations have been meeting with IGAD mediators on the next steps for implementing the cessation of hostilities agreement signed in January. 

He said the government proposed areas for deployment of observers by the IGAD Technical Team, but the opposition refused to sign to this and rejected in particular to include Nasser among the areas to be observed.

In remarks aired on Saturday, the spokesman also accused the opposition of lawlessness and breaking the cessation of hostilities, pointing out also that they could not control their own forces.

The minister further criticized the mediators for 'silence' on these issues, saying they should have spoken out to the international community about such violations.

Asked about UN human rights reports about crimes committed against civilians, Makuei explained that the reports are not neutral, denying that the government was targeting anyone on an ethnic basis.

Photo: Hon. Michael Makuei Lueth (youtube.com)