The division that has developed within South Sudan First Vice President Riek Machar’s Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-in Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) is worrying, a senior UN envoy said Wednesday.
Deadly fighting erupted last Saturday between rival factions of Machar’s SPLA-IO in the Magenis area of Upper Nile State.
The clashes erupted days after Machar’s rivals declared they had deposed him as the head of the SPLM-IO group and its military wing. Armed forces led by a rival general in the SPLA-IO, Simon Gatwech Dual, clashed with Machar’s forces.
“UNMISS [United Nations Mission in South Sudan] is committed to supporting the full implementation of the Revitalized Peace Agreement and it is important that this process continues to move forward at pace,” Nicholas Hayson, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, said in a statement seen by Radio Tamazuj.
He further said, “Therefore, we join with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Council of Ministers, the Presidency, and civil society groups in calling for the SPLM-IO factions, and indeed, all signatory parties to work together to overcome their differences peacefully.”
“It is also important for all stakeholders to expedite the implementation of the transitional security arrangements, including the graduation and deployment of unified forces, which is now critically needed.”
Regional African body IGAD held emergency talks on Monday and discussed the situation in South Sudan after the deadly fighting between rival factions of Machar’s party.
The bloc has been a key player in peace talks to end the young country’s civil war between forces loyal to Machar and President Salva Kiir that cost almost 400,000 lives.
The latest fighting in Machar’s own party threatens to put further pressure on the already fragile peace deal signed in September 2018.