October 18th 2018 (Nyamilepedia) – Sudanese President, Field Marshal Omar Hassan Ahmed Al-Bashir on Wednesday appointed former Sudanese ambassador to Juba, Jamal Al-Sheikh, as a Special envoy for peace in South Sudan.
South Sudan which gained its independence from Sudan in July 2011 has been mired in a bloody civil war since December 2013 between President Salva Kiir’s supporters, mostly Dinka and those supporting former vice President Dr. Riek Machar who are mostly Nuer.
Jamal Al-Sheikh was the second Sudanese ambassador to serve in Juba replacing Motrib Sadig who shortly took the position after the South gained its independence in July 2011 following a landslide win for separatist in a referendum conducted in January that year.
Al-Sheikh is tasked to follow the implementation of peace agreement signed in September 2018 by President Salva Kiir Mayardiit and opposition leader Dr. Riek Machar in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
The agreement was a part of regional effort headed by the regional bloc, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to try to end the ongoing five-year old conflict in South Sudan.
Speaking to a meeting of Sudanese diplomat on Wednesday, the Sudanese President said peace in South Sudan as well as the stability there affect similar situation in the region especially in Sudan.
“Peace in Sudan cannot be separated from peace in the region, and achieving peace in South Sudan is a big step towards a comprehensive peace,” he said.
South Sudan President and opposition leader Dr. Riek Machar Teny-Dhurgon signed a permanent ceasefire agreement in June to end the ongoing conflict and to release detainees.
Last month, the two rivals turned peace partners signed the long waited revitalized agreement in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to end the five-year old brutal South Sudan conflict paving way for hope to end to the suffering there.
However, despite agreements and promises made by the South Sudanese parties, the fighting has continued in most parts of the country despite report by peace monitors, CTSAMM including UNIMISS, that fighting has declined all over the country.
