Finally Riek agrees to meet
In a turn around after having initially refused to meet members of the national dialogue, Dr. Riek Macher met with South Sudanese religious leaders on the issue of the national dialogue. The co-chair of the steering committee Angelo Beda expressed his disappointment to the fact that the exiled rebel leader had refused to meet with the committee but was grateful that he eventually agreed to meet with the religious leaders. In a statement the steering committee said that Dr. Macher again refused a request to meet with the committee. Angelo Beda said, “I also want to underline, Riek Machar actually did meet with us through religious leaders who are part of the process. So, his views will be transmitted to the committee by the religious leaders.”
Kiir support IGAD process
President Salva Kiir will support to IGAD’s revitalization process. Foreign affairs minister Deng Alor Kuol has said. Alor who is a member of the former detainees group also affirmed his group’s willingness to participate and support the revitalization process.
Calls for release DR Reik
Civil society activists living in exile in Kenya appealed to IGAD to be included in the revitalization process consultations. In a petition, the group says they condemn the exclusion of the civil society in the diaspora and other groups since they were among the first to advocate for peace for their country. Besides this, they applauded the IGAD delegation for carrying out separate consultations with the different opposing parties in South Sudan. They also demanded the unconditional release of Dr. Riek Macher from exile in South Africa.
Rebel groups clash
Two rebel groups, the SPLA-IO allied to Dr. Riek Macher and the NSF allied to Thomas Cirillo clashed in Kajo Keji near the border with Uganda. It is not clear what the cause of the clash was but, the deputy spokesperson of the Macher led group Lam Paul said that the NSF attacked them on Tuesday killing two soldiers and capturing two. The NSF said that the SPLA-IO forces killed one of their soldiers. At the end of the two-day clash, three people were confirmed dead.
