February 26th 2019 (Nyamilepedia) – The IGAD Special envoy for South Sudan, Amb. Ismail Wais, met on Monday the leader of the holdout South Sudan National Democratic Alliance (SSNDA) Gen. Thomas Cirilo in Addis Ababa to discuss the ongoing peace process.
Gen. Cirilo who is also the leader of the National Salvation Front (NAS) refused to sign the revitalized peace agreement in September 2018 accusing the regional mediation of bias for not including federalism in the agreement.
In a statement issued on Monday and extended to the Nyamilepedia, the regional bloc said ambassador Wais “held an urgent meeting with Lt. Gen. Thomas Cirilo to discuss the time-frame and modalities for further engagements with him and his team.”
The meeting, according to the statement, was attended by the Ambassador of Kenya to Ethiopia, representative of the Ugandan Embassy in Addis Ababa, and the Interim Chairperson of R-JMEC.
The statement further said Wais and his team “highlighted the urgency of stopping the ongoing hostilities especially in Yei River State and other affected areas. He further urged Lt. Gen. Thomas Cirillo to give the ongoing engagement a chance to succeed by silencing the guns.”
Wais further called “upon all other parties involved in hostilities to abide by the Permanent Ceasefire in the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS).”
