May 22nd 2018 (Nyamilepedia) – South Sudanese delegates representing different parties to the South Sudan’s conflict at the Addis talks have been informed by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) that they will be taking a ‘short break’ on Thursday before they would resumes mediation in June, a source told the Nyamilepedia from the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, the venue of the talks, on Tuesday.
South Sudanese parties on Tuesday signed a document to recommit themselves to the IGAD peace process and to the Cessation of Hostilities (CoH) Agreement signed in December last year under the auspices of the regional body.
“Today, the mediation informed us that we will be leaving the venue of the talks for short break on Thursday and we will return in June,” the source told the Nyamilepedia from the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Tuesday afternoon.
The source did not however give any details about what would be the discussion point after the parties concluded the intra-South Sudanese talks on Tuesday morning which was hosted by the religious leaders.
South Sudan descended into civil war in December 2013 after forces loyal to the country’s president, Salva Kiir Mayardiit and his then Governor of Northern Bahr Al-Ghazal State Gen. Paul Malong Awan went door-to-door in the capital Juba killing civilians belonging to the Nuer ethnic group sparking a nation-wide protests from top army generals from the Nuer leading to a civil war.
A peace agreement signed in August 2015 by President Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar and negotiated under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the African Union (AU) in presence of Troika and other international observers collapsed in July 2016 following fighting at the presidential palace in Juba “J1” reportedly after President Kiir ordered a failed attempt to arrest the SPLM-IO leader Riek Machar.
Late last year, the IGAD decided to revive the peace agreement and had initiated a peace revival mechanism known as the High-Level Revitalization Forum (HLRF) to bring back to life the 2015 peace agreement. Peace talks in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa resumed on Thursday with little optimism as President Kiir said he is unwilling to accept the return of the country’s former first vice president and two armies both of whom are major opposition demands.
The IGAD has given the negotiating parties May 21st as the ultimatum to sign peace but it is still unclear what would be the consequences in case the warring parties do not meet the dateline.
