October 15th 2018 (Nyamilepedia) – The TROIKA countries comprising of the United States, United Kingdom and Norway have set one condition for funding the ongoing South Sudan peace process which they had criticized in the past.
South Sudan’s incumbent, Mr. Salva Kiir Mayardiit and the opposition leader, Dr. Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon, signed the long awaited revitalized peace deal in September 2018 under the auspice of the intergovernmental authority on development(IGAD).
The IGAD peace process is part of regional and international effort to end the ongoing five-year old brutal South Sudanese civil war which has been ongoing since December 2013 between divided factions of South Sudan army and allied tribal militias on both sides.
In a statement obtained by the Sudanese daily newspaper, Al-Intibaha online, the trio have accepted to fund the ongoing South Sudan peace process on the condition that a tribunal court shall be set up to prosecute apparent war criminals before they usher in their financial support.
The statement signed by the United Kingdom’s Special Envoy to Sudan and South Sudan, Hon. Christopher Trott, further hailed the signing of the peace agreement describing it as a good start for achieving permanent peace and stability in South Sudan.
The statement urges the South Sudanese leaders to put the interest of their people ahead of political differences reminding them of their responsibilities as leaders of a country they have fought for for almost three decades.
South Sudan descended into civil war in December 2013 following a flareup of violence during a national convention of the ruling SPLM party sparking fighting within the country’s Presidential Guards, also known as Tiger Battalion.
During the first days of the fighting in Juba, government sponsored militia massacred thousands of Nuer ethnic group leading to a military response by top army generals from ethnic Nuer group.
The TROIKA has been vocal about setting up a regional court that would prosecute war criminals accused of targeting civilians and committing war crimes during the five years of conflict, however, no significant step has been formalized so far.
