The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and its international backers have called on the South Sudanese government to allow all of the invited delegates to travel to peace talks in Addis Ababa.
This comes after security personnel activing on directives from the presidency on Wednesday evening blocked Lam Akol and other political parties representatives from boarding their flight to Addis Ababa.
In a statement today the members of the so-called IGAD PLUS mediation mechanism “express their collective commitment to the inclusivity of the South Sudan peace process.”
“In this regard, we express our concern that invited representatives of South Sudanese political parties have reportedly been prevented from traveling to Addis Ababa to participate in the IGAD PLUS process, which resumed yesterday,” the statement adds.
The mediators called on the South Sudanese government “to immediately allow these and all invited representatives to travel and participate fully.”
The statement noted that the IGAD PLUS members include the AU Commission, China, the European Union, the Troika and five AU countries.