May 31st 2018 (Nyamilepedia) – The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has endorsed the full participation of the prominent South Sudanese politician and SPLM-IO leader, Dr. Riek Machar Teny, in the ongoing peace process mediated by the regional body, IGAD.
The IGAD, in a communique issued today from Addis Ababa-Ethiopia today, says the rebel leader, Dr. Riek Machar, and the South Sudanese president would soon meet face to face before the African Union’s 31st summit due for July 2018.
The IGAD directed the regional bloc’s mediation to summit a fully developed revitalization text for the 2015 peace agreement.
Machar has been under house arrest since October 2016 after the regional bloc reportedly asked South African authorities to detain him from leaving the country.
In collaboration with the United States, IGAD hoped to prevent Machar from taking part in the political crisis in South Sudan, however, in contrary, the war has been raging on since then.
In March 2018, the IGAD decided to “release him” but the planned release has some demands attached to it which the opposition said do not make sense.
The IGAD said Machar must first renounce violence in order to be relocated to one of the country outside the region.
For their part, the opposition said their group under Machar has already signed a Cessation of Hostilities Agreement with the government; something they said shows their group is not interested in violent meant of solving the current crisis.
An IGAD delegation which visited Machar in South Africa disagreed with him after approaching him to inform him that the regional bloc have decided to relocate him to Djibouti
