The opening of a river route from Renk to Juba is the responsibility of the Joint Military Ceasefire Commission, said Gen. James Koang Chol, head of the SPLA-IO’s military forces.

The west bank of the Nile in Upper Nile State has been cut off from traffic by Johnson Olony, a Shilluk commander aligned with the SPLA-IO.

Last week, the SPLM-IO was asked to reach an agreement with Olony by the transitional government.

“We have not been informed officially that there is food that is going to be brought from Renk to Juba” Koang said in an interview. “If we were informed the joint military committee would do that. But no one had informed the military committee officially,”

Koang said that Gen. Olony is a senior commander in the SPLA-IO and if contacted by the joint military committee he will accept the directives.