July 8th 2019 (Nyamilepedia) – South Sudan’s main armed opposition leader, Dr. Riek Machar Teny, said on Sunday that fighting that took place at the presidential place, J1, in Juba in July 2016, involving his guards and those belonging to president Salva Kiir Mayardiit, denied South Sudanese peace.
This came in an annual message for Machar in which the main armed opposition group said the government intended to murder its senior leadership members.
“These events not only lead to the collapse bf ARCSS but also to destruction of many lives both from the SPLM/SPLA(IO) and government forces,” Machar’s said in a statement he issued on the eve of July 8th.
“Indeed, these events marked one of the darkest chapters in the history of our young country as the country again became engulfed in a further vicious conflict for three more years resulting in more loss of hundreds of thousands of lives, dire humanitarian situation including displacement of millions. In short, the J1 events denied peace to our people,” he added.
The prominent opposition leader further reiterated the group’s commitment to the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement signed in September last year between the government and opposition groups.
” …….. the SPLM/SPLA(IO) would like to use this commemoration to reiterate its commitment to the full implementation of R-ARCSS and urges the parties to the Agreement particularly the government to ensure the full implementation of this Agreement in letter and spirit,” Machar said.
“Finally, we call on our people to overcome the horrors of war and start a process of reconciliation so that the nation we aspire for is realized,” he concluded.
