No return to war, says SPLM amid tension in gov’t
The ruling party Sudan People’s Liberation Movement –in Government (SPLM-IG) has allayed fears that the country could slip into war following growing tensions between the two peace partners.
The Acting SPLM Secretary-General Peter Lam Both issued a statement on Monday afternoon, saying the country’s leadership is committed to the implementation of the 2018 peace agreement signed between President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Dr Riek Machar.
‘‘We want to assure the people of South Sudan that the Revitalised Peace Agreement is intact and that there is no return to war,’’ Mr Both said in a statement. The SPLM blamed some unnamed persons for fuelling tensions, saying, ‘‘they have been beating the drums of war from the diaspora.’’
The SPLM, led by President Salva Kiir was responding to a growing political tension taking its toll on the country after its main opponent Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) pulled out of ceasefire mechanism bodies citing attacks by SSPDF in the Upper Nile States.
Last week, the SPLM-IO led by Dr Riek Machar suspended its participation in R-JMEC, CTSAM-VM and Joint Defence Board (JDB) on claims that pro-government forces had launched attacks on its bases in Upper Nile and Unity states.
However, the SPPDF spokesperson Maj Gen. Lul Ruai rubbished such claims and instead accused the opposition forces of being the aggressor.
On Friday, Dr Machar penned a letter to IGAD seeking its intervention in midwifing a middle-ground deal for the unification of forces. Dr Machar had disowned a presidential order on force restructuring on account that it contravened the requirements of the 2018 peace agreement. President Kiir is pushing for a 60-40 sharing ratio of the army while Dr Machar is pushing for a 50-50 sharing ratio, where SPLM-IG would take 50 per cent while the other half is shared between SPLM-IO and other parties.
Since Monday morning, a contingent of armed security personnel, comprising police officers, have been deployed at various points in Juba City. The officers are checking top range cars moving along the major roads in the city.
