UN calls for peaceful resolution of division within South Sudan’s faction

Khartoum [Sudan], August 12 (ANI/Xinhua): The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) on Thursday called for peaceful resolution of the division which has developed within the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-In-Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) led by First Vice President Riek Machar.

Nicholas Haysom, Special Representative of the Secretary-General called on the warring parties to work together and overcome their differences which led to clashes between factions in Magenis last week.

“It is also important for all stakeholders to expedite the implementation of the transitional security arrangements, including the graduation and deployment of unified forces, which is now critically needed,” Haysom said in a statement issued in Juba.

The move follows the deadly clashes which erupted last week after Machar’s rivals declared they had deposed him as the head of the party and its military forces.

Armed forces led by SPLA-IO Chief of Staff, Simon Gatwech Dual, a rival general in the party, later launched an attack on Machar’s men who had repulsed the aggressors resulting in the death of 34 soldiers at Magenis area of Upper Nile state.

Dual also blamed Machar for weakening the former rebel movement’s hand in the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGoNU) formed in February 2020, under the 2018 revitalized peace deal to end the conflict which erupted in December 2013.

Machar’s allies later dismissed the attempt to depose him as a failed coup by peace saboteurs, maintaining he was still in full control of the party. President Salva Kiir on Wednesday formed a mediation team to help broker peace within the opposition splinter group.

Haysom said the UNMISS is committed to supporting the full implementation of the revitalized peace agreement, noting that it is important that this process continues to move forward at pace.

“Therefore, we join with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Council of Ministers, the Presidency, and civil society groups in calling for the SPLM-IO factions, and indeed, all signatory parties to work together to overcome their differences peacefully,” he said. (ANI/Xinhua)