South Sudan’s armed opposition leader, Riek Machar has expressed “”dismay and profound “disappointment” on the position taken by the East African regional bloc IGAD on the 2015 peace deal during its 30th Extra-ordinary Summit of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government in Nairobi, Kenya.
In a communiqué issued following the summit, IGAD condemned the proliferation of armed groups in South Sudan and called on all armed groups to renounce armed struggle as a means of solving the problems in the country.
“It is regrettable that IGAD decided to abandon its responsibility to continue with its serious efforts that culminated into signing of the agreement on the resolution of the conflict in South Sudan in August, 2015,” said Machar in a statement dated 26 March, 2017.
“The Agreement gave hope for a new beginning for the people of South Sudan. The SPLM/SPLA (IO) remains committed to its resuscitation and full implementation thereafter,”he added.
The exiled prominent opposition leader also accused IGAD of refusing to acknowledge the collapse of the signed peace agreement following the 8 July, 2016 events in Juba.
The United Nations panel of experts in their report confirmed that President Kiir was responsible for the July 2016 crisis that plunged the country back into a full-scale war, according to the rebel leader.
“IGAD has, however, neither condemned nor has it made Kiir accountable for engineering the violence, instead, IGAD decided to isolate the opposition and continue to work with the regime in Juba,” he said.
The former First Vice President said the proliferation of armed groups in the country is a direct result of the sheer brutality of the current government in Juba and the targeting of the civil population based on their ethnicity.
Machar also voiced concern over the unprecedented level of rape as reported by the UNHCHR, the unprecedented exodus of people from South Sudan for refuge of which over 1.6 million South Sudanese are now refugees in neighbouring nations and over 25,0,000 have sought refuge in UN protection of civilians sites, including in the nation’s capital, Juba.
“Moreover, IGAD could not call for establishment of the Hybrid Court of South Sudan to try the perpetuators of war crimes,” he said.
“We would want to assert that unless IGAD takes a different approach to deal with the regime in Juba, the regime will continue to act with impunity and the people of South Sudan will continue to resist.”
The opposition leader emphasized the need to immediately initiate a political process that would allow for the terms of ceasefire to be addressed, saying the national dialogue called for by President Salva Kiir cannot replace a peace process for ending the ongoing war.
Photo: Rebel leader Riek Machar