2016-04-18 11:30:00

South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar postpones return to Juba


Rebel leader Riek Machar has postponed to Tuesday his expected return to the South Sudan capital of Juba. Rebel spokesperson, William Ezekiel was quoted by the media waiting for Machar at Juba's airport that the trip had been postponed to Tuesday. He cited "logistical reasons." The spokesman emphasised that the rebels were still committed to the peace process.

AFP reports that Riek Machar was due in Juba Monday to take up office as first Vice President of South Sudan rekindling some hope for the peace agreement signed in August 2015 by the warring factions. The agreement provided for a cease-fire and a power-sharing mechanism in South Sudan.
Riek Machar has previously served as South Sudan’s first Vice-President from July 2011 at Independence. His sacking by President Salva Kiir set in motion the start of the post-independence conflict. 

Machar was due to arrive in Juba from his base of Pagak in the eastern part of South Sudan bordering Ethiopia. He has not set foot in Juba since the start of the war in December 2013.

The expected return of Riek Machar to Juba rekindles hope for a fragile peace agreement. South Sudan plunged into civil war in December 2013 when fighting broke out in the national army, plagued by political and ethnic strife fueled by the rivalry at the head of the regime between President Salva Kiir and his first Vice President Riek Machar. 

Since the fighting started two years ago, more than two million people have been displaced and tens of thousands killed as a result of the fighting.
On Sunday, Reuters said United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had phoned both President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar and urged them to form quickly a transitional government aimed at ending the conflict.

In his call to Kiir, Ban praised the decision to welcome Machar back in Juba and "called for the expeditious implementation of the security arrangements" including the withdrawal of Kiir's SPLA troops from Juba.

Speaking with Machar, Ban welcomed Machar's decision to return to Juba and "urged him to work with President Kiir to prevent any further violence."
The arrival of Machar and a working Transitional Government of National Unity will be crucial steps in the peace process.

(Agencies, Vatican Radio)
Email: engafrica@vatiradio.va








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