Protests in Sudan will not have a direct effect on South Sudan’s peace agreement, a top South Sudanese diplomat said.
Sudan has been rocked by anti-government demonstrations over the past two weeks, with dozens killed. Four South Sudanese nationals were among the dead.
Sudanese protesters have called on President Omar al-Bashir, who took power in 1989, to step down.
Mayen Dut Wol, South Sudan’s Ambassador to Sudan, told Radio Tamazuj on Thursday that Sudan’s unrest will not affect the revitalized peace deal.
“Our agreement was brokered by Sudan through IGAD, so the ongoing protests will not affect the implementation process,” Mayen said.
The diplomat urged South Sudanese citizens in Sudan to be cautious as anti-government protests continue in Khartoum and several cities.
“I call upon South Sudanese to stay away from the ongoing protests. The protest is an internal issue, so we have nothing to do with it as South Sudanese citizens,” he said.
In September last year, South Sudan's conflicting parties signed the final peace accord in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa in the presence of the heads of state and government of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
The agreement was reached through peace talks brokered in Khartoum by the Sudanese government with a mandate by the East African bloc IGAD.