A faction of South Sudan Opposition Movements Alliance (SSOMA) announced a new leadership structure on Wednesday. This came in a declaration adopted after a meeting held in Rome, Italy, on the 12th and 14th of August.
The opposition faction includes the National Salvation Front led by General Thomas Cirilo Swaka, the South Sudan Movement for Change (SSMC) led by Alex Yata, and the National Democratic Movement-Patriotic Front (NDM-PF) led by Emmanuel Ajawin.
Under the new structure, according to a declaration document seen by Radio Tamazuj, Gen. Thomas Cirillo Swaka, Chairman of National Salvation Front (NAS), became the chairperson of the SSOMA faction – which is dominated by members of opposition movements that did not join the Tumaini Initiative in Nairobi, Kenya.
Dr. Alex Yata Lukadi, who is the leader of the South Sudan Movement for Change (SSMC), became deputy chairperson of SSOMA, and Emmanuel Ajawin, Chairman of National Democratic Movement-Patriotic Front (NDM-PF), was named secretary general of the alliance.
According to the declaration, the faction decided to conduct a general alliance meeting to adopt the SSOMA Secretariat’s new structure and identify and appoint officials for the respective secretariat positions.
The opposition faction, which is now in consultative talks with the unity government in Rome, resolved to “improve and adopt the SSOMA comprehensive peace road map as a guideline in any political negotiations in South Sudan.” It reiterated its commitment to “the unity of the opposition parties working together in a functional alliance.”
The holdout group has made a “significant commitment to political dialogue as the best means to resolve the conflict.” It has also acknowledged that “the only way forward to achieve sustainable peace in the country is through addressing the root causes of the conflict in South Sudan in an inclusive roundtable conference.”
The opposition faction declined to participate in the Kenya High-level Mediation for South Sudan after its launch in Nairobi on 9 May. It cited safety concerns regarding the venue and the lack of response to their request to continue talks in Rome, Italy, with Community Sant’Egidio as co-mediators.
The other South Sudan Opposition Movements Alliance (SSOMA) faction that unconditionally joined the Nairobi peace 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.
Peace negotiations between the transitional unity government and the holdout groups 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.