Ms Jambo bids for presidency
Former Secretary for Foreign Relations Suzanne Jambo of the ruling party, SPLM, has declared that she will stand for elections at the end of the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU) in 2018. Jambo currently lives in the United States of America and is a human rights and civil society activist. She says that she has been a victim of the war and has seen the suffering of people, especially women, and believes she can deliver them from it. Jambo mentioned that she would form a new political party ahead of the elections and contest under its banner. In August, President Salva Kiir told the nation to prepare for elections in 2018 when the TGoNU comes to an end.
Fighting breaks out between rebel groups
Last week, forces allied to Dr. Riek Machar had a confrontation with troops allied to the government under first vice president Taban Deng. It still isn’t clear which of the two parties was responsible for the attack, but both groups released statements the following day claiming that they had taken control of the Kuergeng area in Unity State. The statement released by the government allied forces claims they came under attack by rebels. They claim that nine people were killed while thirteen others, including the Commissioner of the Kuergeng region, sustained injuries. The spokesperson of the SPLA-IO, William Gatjiath, released a statement saying that his forces had captured the Kuergeng area and had killed more than seventeen soldiers. The fighting happened just days after President Salva Kiir had pledged to the US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley that he would ensure peace and declared a permanent ceasefire.
A new rebel group is born
A new rebel group called the National Resistance Front has been formed according to their communique after meetings by opposition groups from South Sudan from September to October of this year. The political bureau of the rebel group vowed through their communique to oppose Salva Kiir’s regime. The group’s desire is to provide security and establish a federal republic where the presidency rotates among the regions of Upper Nile, Equatoria and Bahr-el-Gazal. The federal system would also ensure equitable power and wealth distribution.
Release Malong- Rights group says
The Center for Peace and Justice (CPJ), through their coordinator Tito Anthony, called for the unconditional release of former army chief of staff Paul Malong and other political figures who are being detained in South Sudan. According to Tito, after Paul Malong was laid off by Salva Kiir in May 2017, he was unlawfully detained. He warned the president and Vice President Taban Deng that their systematic violations of human rights will have consequences and the two will be held accountable for their actions.
Dinka youth support Dr. Machar
Youth leaders from Twic East in Jonglei State who call themselves the marginalized Dinka from the Twic and Padang communities have accused president Salva Kiir and the Jieng Council of Elders of being responsible for the suffering and bloodshed in the country and called for support for Riek Macher’s SPLA-IO. According to the youths, the name Dinka is being used to advance the individual interests of the president and council of elders and cause suffering to the people of South Sudan. This, they argue, is now making Dinkas a target for revenge by other tribes in the country. The Dinka are just one of the 64 tribes in South Sudan. The youth want to unite all the tribes for the sake of peace and they believe that Dr. Riek Machar, who according to them has a clear vision about prosperity and unity, can achieve this.
Exit strategy for Kiir and Machar
The Former Political Detainees of South Sudan proposed a way out for president Salva Kiir and Dr. Riek Machar if they decided to leave politics. The political detainees accused the two leaders of holding the country hostage with fears of being held accountable for the crimes committed during the conflict. They therefore came up with an exit strategy including asylum to any country willing to accept the individuals, amnesty for specified crimes committed from December 2015 to the end of the transition and a reasonable financial incentive to ensure that they live a decent life in exile. The roadmap also proposed the use of the credible threat of force to persuade the two leaders to accept.
