The opposition group Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO) said on Friday it had released 15 government soldiers it had been holding.
Manawa Peter Gatkuoth, deputy spokesman for the opposition SPLM-IO, said that the former detainees were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in line with the peace agreement.
“The 15 persons have been transported from New Fangak to Juba. It is a good move towards the implementation of the peace process,” he said.
Manawa urged the government in Juba to release prisoners of war and political detainees.
Contacted by Radio Tamazuj on Friday, the ICRC referred to a statement it released on Thursday saying it had “facilitated the release of 15 persons detained in relation to the conflict in South Sudan.”
Aidah Khamis, ICRC’s communication officer, said they facilitated the release of the 15 persons from New Fangak.”We safely transported the former detainees to Juba on Thursday and they were handed over to the government,” Aidah said.
She pointed out that the operation marks the second release of prisoners supervised by the ICRC since the signing of the peace deal.
South Sudan’s rivals leaders failed to establish a new government as stipulated in the peace deal by May 12.The formation of the unity government was extended by six months to November in order to implement key provisions such as creating a unified army and determining the number of states.