December 3rd 2019 (Nyamilepedia) – South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit has set one condition for the release of SPLM-IO chairman Dr. Riek Machar who has been under house confinement since 2016.
Kiir who was attending the IGAD meeting of the Heads of State and Government in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Friday asked the region to instead relocate Machar to Juba before his release.
The SPLM-IO in a statement this afternoon said it deplores President Salva Kiir’s request urging the region to release Machar during its next summit due in Khartoum later this month.
“[The SPLM-IO] deplore[s] the request of President Salva Kiir for immediate relocation of H.E. Dr. Riek Machar to Juba as an essential condition for release of Dr. Riek Machar. This decision of President Kiir is reflective of ill intention,” the statement issued by SPLM-IO director of information and public relations partly read.
A recent meeting of the IGAD council of ministers, regional and international envoys have called for Machar’s release. The United States and the United Nations have also voiced their support for Machar’s release.
The release of the main armed opposition leader has been of many demands by the SPLM-IO.
