Negotiators of the warring SPLM-Juba and SPLM-IO factions have signed a plan to prevent clashes between their forces, following days of talks in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa aimed at ending the South Sudanese civil war.
The plan, referred to as an ‘Implementation Matrix,’ requires the warring parties to freeze their forces in position and begin to disengage and separate them, so that the forces will not come into contact with each other.
Chief negotiator Taban Deng (pictured right) signed on behalf of the SPLM-Juba faction and chief negotiator Nhial Deng (seen left) signed on behalf of the SPLM-IO faction, with mediators Lazaro Sumbeiywo, Seyoum Mesfin and Mohamed al-Dabi (center-left to center-right) witnessing the agreement.
Mediators of the Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) announced in a press release on Sunday that they “welcome the agreement today… of the implementation matrix and a detailed timetable to implement the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement in South Sudan.”
“Agreement of the timetable is a vital step to bring the war in South Sudan to an end. The IGAD Special Envoys call on the parties to swiftly and earnestly take all measures to implement the agreed timetable, without delay,” reads the statement.
The security deal came after the conclusion of the IGAD Heads of State and Government Summit, during which the two sides held extensive talks with the direct involvement of the Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.
Previous dispute about the Matrix
Formally the parties had already agreed to the Matrix at an earlier IGAD summit on 25 August when they signed a ‘re-dedication’ document committing “to implement the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement in accordance with the ‘Implementation Modalities for the Cessation of Hostilities Matrix.’”
However, the Summit organizers in August overlooked to require the negotiators to sign the pages of the Matrix itself.
Days after signing this ‘re-dedication’ agreement, the SPLM-IO chief negotiator announced that he had not signed the Implementation Matrix itself, amid reports of troop movements in a number of contested areas of South Sudan.
Then on 30 August the mediators issued a press release clarifying that the Implementation Matrix was an ‘integral part’ of the other document signed by SPLM-IO. The chief mediator called the SPLM-IO denial a “gimmick” and stressed that the parties must abide by the Matrix.
In spite of such appeals, the security deal was largely ignored, according to an IGAD communiqué issued in early October, which expressed “disappointment on the lack of the implementation of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreements and all its implementation modalities including the Matrix.”
Meanwhile, the IGAD mediators on Sunday also issued a document summarizing recent ceasefire violations. Besides heading the mediation effort, IGAD is also the party mandated to monitor and verify ceasefire violations. The regional bloc has embedded military observers within the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).