April 10th 2019 (Nyamilepedia) – South Sudan’s main armed opposition leader, Dr. Riek Machar Teny, has arrived in the Holy city of the Vatican where he is expected to meet his arch rival, President Salva Kiir Mayardiit, the SPLM-IO has announced.
The meeting set for Thursday between him and Mr. Kiir is aimed at building confidence between the two arch foes whose political wrangling over the leadership of the SPLM party led to the ongoing civil war in December 2013.
The SPLM-IO said in a brief statement on its Facebook page that the prominent opposition leader who signed a peace agreement with Kiir last year arrived this afternoon in the Vatican.
“H.E. Dr. Riek Machar Teny-Dhurgon, the SPLM/A (IO) Chairman and commander in Chief and his accompanying delegation arrival in Rome this afternoon 10/4/2019,” said the brief SPLM-IO statement seen by the Nyamilepedia.
For his part, the SPLM-IO Country Representative to Cairo, Amb. Gatkuoth Biel Nyang, told the Nyamilepedia separately that Machar made a two-hour stop at Cairo airport before proceeding to the Vatican.
“The chairman made a stop at Cairo airport for two hours. I was there with him and now we announces to the people of South Sudan that your leader has safely landed in the Vatican,” Gatkuoth said.
Machar’s 10-member team include his deputy, Henry Odwar and his wife, Angelina Teny who you s also the SPLM-IO Chairperson of Security and Defense.
