May 8th 2019 (Nyamilepedia) – South Sudan’s prominent opposition and SPLM-IO leader Dr. Riek Machar Teny-Dhurgon is meeting regional and international diplomats in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa over the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement, an official from the main armed opposition group said on Tuesday.
Machar’s main armed opposition group signed a peace agreement with the government of President Salva Kiir Mayardiit and other opposition groups in Addis Ababa last September but the agreement has faced several setbacks on its implementation.
Speaking to the Nyamilepedia from the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Tuesday, Puok Both Baluang, the SPLM-IO Director of Information and Public Relations said Machar decided to stay in Addis Ababa to engage regional and international diplomats to support the country’s fragile peace implementation.
“Dr. Machar is still in Addis Ababa; after the conclusion of the IGAD meeting that they call for the parties to evaluate the agreement particularly on the pre-transitional period, Dr. Machar decided to remain in Addis Baba and since then he has embark on diplomatic meetings,” Baluang said
“He met representatives from the Troika countries as well as representatives from IGAD countries led by Ambassador Ismail Wais and so on and so forth, so, all these meetings aimed at discussing the ways forward as well as the assurance on the implementation and these are all what Dr. Machar is discussing,” he added.
Asked whether Machar is free to move anywhere within the region, the opposition official said Machar is not yet freed from house arrest saying he will return to Khartoum once he completed his meetings in Addis Ababa.
“He’s not free yet he was only invited to attend the [IGAD] meeting in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa and after that he will return back to Khartoum,” he said.
