Pagan Amum Okiech, former Secretary General of the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and leader of the SPLM-Former Detainees faction (SPLM-FDs) has accused South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir of turning the SPLA army into tribal militias.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Thursday, Amum claimed the national army had ceased to exist after the President systematically ethicised it, “Salva Kiir has turned the SPLA into tribal militias, and there are other tribal militias which are fighting the regime, that’s why we are calling for foreign intervention in order to solve this problem” he said.
The leading memeber of the opposition group stressed that the government-sponsored tribal militias must be disarmed after foreign intervention into South Sudan. He pointed out that a neutral government of technocrats that would prepare for election is the only way to save South Sudan from collapsing.
Pagan Amum announced that they had formed an advocacy group seeking to bring South Sudan under the administration of the United Nations in order to force President Kiir to resign.