Guterres wants peace first
At the recent meeting of the UN general assembly UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres met with African Union and IGAD purposely at seeking ways in which to support the peace in South Sudan.
During the meeting Secretary General urged the international community to use all tools and means available to get South Sudan’s warring sides to accept a peaceful settlement. He called for continued humanitarian and protection as well as having unrestricted access to the civilians that need help.
Juba seeks release of 14 detainees
The government in Juba has called for the unconditional release of 14 officials that were arrested by the SPLA-IO allied to Dr. Riek Macher. Dickson Gatluak a spokesman for Taban Deng’s group said that 14 members of a peace delegation were arrested in Akobo county in the Bieh state. Among those captured was the commissioner of Akobo county Tut Chai Riek.
Gatluack said that these people were not on a military mission but were civilians who were on a mission for peace.
SPAL-IO has confirmed that the 14 individuals were in their custody and that they would not release them as they posed a security threat and they will be treated as war criminals
Taban addresses the UN
While addressing the United Nations general assembly first Vice President Taban Deng Gai said his country needs to focus on development and long-term projects to enable peace and stability. He applauded IGAD the African Union for their efforts in pushing for peace in South Sudan and commended them for isolating those who are looking for power through violence. Taban Deng added that South Sudan would work on improving access to civilians that require humanitarian assistance and hoped that the international community would continue to offer the much-needed humanitarian support to the people of South Sudan.
Shearer wants peace now
The head of the UN Mission in South Sudan David Shearer has said that the warring parties in South Sudan are showing little interest in the implementation of the 2015 peace agreement. Parties showed a small amount of interest to engage in negotiations on finding peace for the country and working on development. Shearer suggests finding a political solution to support the process to make it easier for humanitarian aid to reach civilians and security for humanitarian workers
US warns South Sudan
The US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has warned the leaders of the warring factions of South Sudan that they have one last chance to achieve peace. With the spokesperson of Salva Kiir saying they would like to negotiate with the US over the sanctions imposed on the three individuals from South Sudan because information used to impose the sanctions was inaccurate, Nikki Haley said that IGAD offered the leaders of the country a way to stop the violence and resuscitate the 2015 peace process but time was running out. She added that the different parties must use the next couple of weeks to commit themselves to the peace process and conclude it otherwise a resolution should be attained to do more to end the four-year conflict.
