South Sudan’s Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth says the government delegation and the opposition delegation at the ongoing talks in Addis Ababa have agreed to set up a committee for discussion of security issues.

Lueth disclosed to Radio Tamazuj yesterday that the security committee will discuss mechanisms for implementation of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement.

“The committee comprises three officers from each side,” he said.  

When asked about the other agenda items in the talks, Makuei stated the two parties have already agreed to discuss all the issues at once by forming three committees to discuss the remaining issues.

For his part, the spokesman of the SPLM/A-in-Opposition at the peace negotiations Yohanis Musa Pouk said the government sees the cessation of hostilities agreement and transfer of the dialogue to Juba as the top issues.

He claimed the government position has hindered the peace process, saying the dialogue cannot be transferred to Juba without reaching a just and satisfactory peace in Addis Ababa.

The SPLM/A in Opposition leader Dr. Riek Machar will first meet the Ethiopian Prime Minister Haile Mariam Desalenge before the proposed face-to-face meeting with President Salva Kiir, according to Pouk.   

File photo: Taban Deng, head of the SPLM/A in Opposition delegation, and Nhial Deng, head of the South Sudan government delegation