October 8th 2019 (Nyamilepedia) – South Sudan’s main armed opposition group, SPLM-IO, led by the country’s former First Vice-President Dr. Riek Machar Teny has reiterated its rejection of forming the unity government in November.
Kiir said in September that he will unilaterally form the unity government provided for in the revitalized peace agreement he signed in Addis Ababa last year with opposition groups.
A statement issued by the group’s spokesperson on Sunday said the main armed opposition group will not be a part of the unit government Kiir said will form in November if the parties do not address the dispute over number of states and their boundaries.
“If the rest of the security arrangements and the number of the states and their boundaries are not implemented, we don’t want to be part of a government that will ignore those issues,” partly read the statement extended to Nyamilepedia.
The statement further accused the government of President Salva Kiir of compromising some of the opposition parties that signed the revitalized peace accord.
“The regime compromised some of the elements in SSOA, G10, OPP that is why they are calling for formation of the new government on 12/11/2019 without implementing the security arrangements and the number of the states. We will not be a part of it,” it said.
“You cannot train a country’s national army in less than a month, it is impossible. The agreement is calling for the training of the unified army for South Sudan,.
“For training a professional national army, enough time is need. The Government of South Sudan under President Salva Kiir frustrated the process by refusing to fund the Joint Defense Board and National Pre-Transitional Committee to carry out their activities on time.”
