December 21st 2018 (Nyamilepedia) -South Sudan government and a delegation of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) on Thursday held a peace celebration ceremony in the Southern Liech state capital Leer, several residents told the Nyamilepedia on Thursday.
Hundreds of Leer residents took to the streets of Leer to welcome a SPLM-IO delegation taking part in the celebration as part of a peace deal signed by the parties.
Leer is the hometown of opposition leader Dr. Riek Machar Teny.
Speaking to the Nyamilepedia, a state official told the Nyamilepedia in Leer that the SPLM-IO delegation led by the opposition Commander of Brigade one, Brig. Gen. James Gatyiek Riek and the former commissioner of Leer county Col. Kuong Kuony Dhoal was warmly received by governor Taker Riak Dong.
“The SPLM-IO delegation was led by Brig. Gen. James Gatyiel Riek and Kuong Kuony. They were received by the governor and peace celebrations is ongoing now,” the state official told the Nyamilepedia on Thursday on the condition of anonymity.
Under regional and international pressure, South Sudan President, Salva Kiir Mayardiit and opposition leader Dr. Riek Machar Teny signed a peace deal in September in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to end the war.
The agreement in Addis Ababa followed months of intense negotiations among delegates of the government and opposition who must, by the time, sign a pact or face international or further regional isolation.
The government in late October conducted a peace celebration ceremony in the capital Juba and was attended by regional leaders as well as the SPLM-IO leader Dr. Machar.
