IGAD urges parties to respect security deal’s terms
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has welcomed South Sudan’s deal on the transitional security arrangement implementation, calling on parties to adhere to its terms.
In a press release on Sunday, the IGAD Executive Secretary, Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu, urged parties to fully implement the agreement ‘faithfully’ and in ‘a timely’ manner to bring an end to the 10 years of conflict.
He described the agreement as an important milestone towards the full implementation of the September 2018 Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) in general and the Transitional Security Arrangements in particular.
“All the parties to respect the terms of the agreement and implement it fully, faithfully, and timely,” said Dr. Gebeyehu in a statement issued on Sunday evening.
On Sunday, the three armed partners in the peace deal—SPLM-IG, SPLM/A-IO, and SSOA—reached a consensus on the stalled implementation of the provisions of Chapter Two of the peace deal to pave the way for the graduation of the first batch of the necessary unified forces.
The parties also agreed to recommit to the cessation of hostility agreement and stop welcoming defectors who shift allegiance from one party to another during the remaining months of the transitional period.
Dr. Gebeyehu commended President Salva Kiir, the First Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar, and the parties to the agreement for their goodwill.
He also thanked the government of the Republic of South Sudan and the Chair of IGAD for brokering the deal.
Endorsements
The agreement has been widely welcomed by the region’s leaders.One of them is the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed Ali, who also promised his country’s support for lasting peace and development in Africa’s youngest country, South Sudan.
“We welcome today’s key agreement reached by President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar,” Dr. Abiy said. “Ethiopia stands in solidarity with South Sudan and continues to stand ready to support efforts towards lasting peace and development.”
South Sudan has less than 11 months to complete its three-year transition period, with more than half of the agreement’s provisions still outstanding, including the graduation and redeployment of the 83, 000 required unified forces critical to the overall peace agreement.
However, according to Presidential Security Advisor, Tut Gatluak, after the signing of the security deal on Sunday, the first batch of the necessary unified forces will be graduated within the next few weeks without further delay.
“Today here in Juba we have completed all the security arrangements for the current forces at training centres and for the second batch. After one week from today, we will come up with the timetable, including for the graduation of forces at training centres and for the second batch to start the training.” Tut said.
