January 29th 2020 (Nyamilepedia) – The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) will release SPLM-IO leader Dr. Riek Machar Teny in early February ahead of formation of the revitalized government, regional sources in Ethiopia said.
Machar has been under detention since the collapse of the 2015 peace agreement in 2016. He has been confined in Pretoria and Khartoum.
The SPLM-IO and several Western countries who are guarantors of peace have many times called for his release as he is a signatory of the revitalized peace agreement signed by the government and opposition groups in September last year.
Speaking to Nyamilepedia this afternoon, a IGAD official in Addis Ababa said Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok told the IGAD special envoy Ismail Wais in Khartoum during a meeting on Tuesday that the IGAD heads of state and government would convene in early February before the expected deadline for the unity government formation so that Machar can be released.
“The Prime Minister of the Republic of Sudan met with IGAD Special Envoy for South Sudan Ambassador Ismail Wais and discussed the peace process in South Sudan,” the officail said from Addis Ababa where headquarters of the IGAD are on condition of anonymity.
“He assured the envoy that the heads of states were going to meet in early February so that the status of Dr. Riek Machar is determined before the formation of the transitional government,” he added.
