General Julius Tabuley, the deputy chairman of the group that broke away from the National Salvation Front (NAS), said his faction was ready for talks and reconciliation with General Thomas Cirillo, leader of the NAS movement.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday, Tabuley said their NAS faction under the leadership of General Khalid Butrous is prepared both to negotiate and also reconcile with Cirillo if there are initiatives to bring the two fractured groups together.

“Nobody has come to us formally from the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) to talk about reconciliation. But we are ready if there is an official communication about reconciliation,” Tabuley said.

“On the point of reconciliation, we told the SSOA leadership that we have been seeing statements on the media about reconciliation but nobody has formally engaged the NAS leadership regarding that process. We will therefore respond only if and when we are formally engaged,” he added.

The top opposition official further said his group is willing to end the fracturing of the National Salvation Front (NAS). “We want to be one body. We don’t have any personal problem with General Thomas Cirillo. Our problem with him was the way he was leading us during the peace process,” he said.

He pointed out that the primary aim of the splinter group of NAS movement is to work for peace and stability in South Sudan.

Tabuley revealed that his breakaway group is not a recognized member of the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA), pointing out that their new leadership has been engaging the SSOA leadership on membership but they have been adamant about it.

 “We are not part of SSOA because the alliance said they want us to reconcile with Thomas Cirillo first. We said it is fine but it will not stop us from the path of peace,” he said.

“If they accept our member its fine, but if they don’t, it is also fine because it is just an alliance. It will not spoil the ongoing peace efforts in South Sudan,” he added.

The senior rebel general reiterated his group’s commitment to engage actively in the peace process in Khartoum, dispelling rumours that his group has been excluded from the talks.