South Sudan’s government and a faction of holdout opposition groups are currently engaged in consultative meetings with the Kenya-led mediation to explore ways of resuming inclusive talks.
Multiple sources who preferred anonymity confirmed to Radio Tamazuj Tuesday that a faction of the holdout rebel groups is attending three-day talks with government officials in Rome, Italy, to discuss the possibility of resuming peace talks.
The National Salvation Front led by General Thomas Cirilo Swaka, the South Sudan National Movement for Change (SSNMC) led by Alex Yatta, and the National Democratic Movement-Patriotic Front (NDM-PF) led by Emmanuel Ajawin are among the groups attending the talks facilitated by the Community of Sant’Egidio and the Kenyan mediation.
“The consultative talks started in Rome on Monday and will continue for three days. According to the government invitation letter, the government and the Kenyan mediation want to brief the holdout group on the progress made by the Tumaini Initiate in Nairobi,” one of the sources said.
“The second agenda of the ongoing talks in Rome is how to make the peace process inclusive and what the way forward is. So they want to hear the position of the holdout group, which is not part of the Tumaini Initiative, and how the group can join the peace process,” it added.
A senior holdout opposition official not authorized to speak to the media confirmed that consultative talks are ongoing in Rome under the auspices of the Community of Sant’Egidio.
When asked if the holdout group led by Gen. Thomas Cirillo is willing to join the Tumaini Initiative, he said: “It is still early for us to predict because the government is trying to use Tumaini as a bridge to extend its tenure in office. But I can confirm that the government delegation led by Albino Mathom and the High-Level Mediation for South Sudan are in Rome meeting the opposition group.”
“We can only join the Tumaini Initiative if there is a change in the government position because NAS and the other groups who are not part of the Nairobi peace talks want radical change in South Sudan. The government is not convinced that the R-ARCSS [Revitalized Agreement] has failed, and the donors do not want to support the peace process because many opposition groups are outside the country. So they are now looking for a way out and support,” he concluded.
In December 2023, South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir requested his Kenyan counterpart William Ruto to take over the mediation from the Community of Sant’Egidio in Rome, complaining that the talks had taken long in Rome’s hands without resolution.
Kenya has been hosting high-level peace talks for South Sudan since 9 May between government representatives and a faction of holdout opposition groups not part of the 2018 agreement that ended a five-year civil war.
The opposition faction that unconditionally joined the Nairobi talks — dubbed Tumaini, Swahili for hope — includes the South Sudan United Front (SSUF) of former Army Chief Paul Malong and Real-SPLM led by former SPLM Party Secretary-General Pagan Amum.
However, the National Salvation Front (NAS) led by Gen Thomas Cirillo, NDM-PF of Emmanuel Ajawin, and SSNMC led by Alex Yatta, have been skeptical. They maintained that President Kiir’s government has never been interested in negotiating with the holdout.
Peace talks between the government and the holdout group that did not sign the 2018 revitalized peace agreement under the umbrella of the South Sudan Opposition Movement Alliance have been dragging on since 2020.