New consultations
A new round of IGAD-led South Sudan peace negotiations kicked off last Saturday in Addis Ababa aimed at bringing lasting peace and security to the country. It can be recalled that the previous round of talks failed to yield any results and the United Nations warned the officials and parties in South Sudan that they would impose sanctions if they did not resolve their differences by the end of the month.[1]
Machar and Kiir finally meet
Riek Machar leader of the main opposition SPLM-IO and President Salva Kiir met on Wednesday for the first time since 2016 in Addis Ababa to discuss peace prospects in South Sudan. The meeting that was organized by the Ethiopian Prime Minster Abiy Ahmed and supported by regional leaders was meant to support creation of a lasting peace. The full deliberations from the meeting are still being held in confidence by IGAD but there are doubts about its effectiveness after the rebels of the SPLA-IO before the talks said that the government forces were planning to attack them in the South of South Sudan.[2]
During the talks, Riek Machar criticized IGAD’s handling of the talks while Salva Kiir told Dr. Machar that he does not want to work with him personally for as long as he is president. The talks between Kiir and Machar did not end in Addis Ababa, second phase of the talks were held in Khartoum.[3]
UN pleased with Indian peacekeepers
Peacekeepers from India have received praise from the UN Mission in South Sudan for their efforts in bringing peace to a town in Jonglei called Akobo. The base in Akobo was created only in February after it had been attacked in 2013. The attack in 2013 saw the deaths of thirty civilians and two peacekeepers but since its re opening, the Indian peace keepers have kept the place safe encouraging more construction and increased settlement by the South Sudanese.[4]
[1] “South Sudan peace consultations kick off in Ethiopia,” Radio Tamazuj, 16 June 2018, available at https://radiotamazuj.org/en/news/article/south-sudan-peace-consultations-kick-off-in-ethiopia
[2] “Regional leaders renew push for elusive South Sudan peace,” Mail Online, 21 June 2018, available at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-5871093/Regional-leaders-renew-push-elusive-South-Sudan-peace.html
[3] “South Sudan’s Kiir-Machar talks to continue in Khartoum,” Sudan Tribune, 22 June 2018, available at http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article65698
[4] “UN praises Indian peacekeepers in war-torn S. Sudan,” Sudan Tribune, 21 June 2018, available at http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article65694
