Dhieu Mathok, the Secretary-General of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO), says that their leader Riek Machar will return to Juba after all of the 1,370 security guards and police for Machar arrive in Juba.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj, Mathok said that there were arrangements in place for the opposition forces to come to Juba. The leading member of the opposition group further said they visited sites where their forces are stationed across South Sudan, while expecting their forces to arrive in Juba by next week.
When asked about recent fighting in Northern Bahr al Ghazal and Western Bahr al Ghazal states, Mathok accused elements within Kiir’s government of instigating the recent fighting in an attempt to obstruct peace implementation. Mathok pointed out that the government also rejected cantonment areas for their forces in Western Bahr al Ghazal.
For its part, the Troika confirmed that it will not transport heavy weapons for the SPLM-IO security team to Juba. They said they will transport for them light weapons only.