[ad_1]
August 6, 2024 (Juba) – Kenyan President William Ruto on Tuesday held talks with South Sudanese opposition leaders and reiterated Kenya’s commitment to promote a peaceful resolution to the ongoing conflict.
President Ruto issued a statement saying he had received updates from retired Lieutenant Generals Lazarus Sumbeywo, Pagan Amumu Okeech, Paul Malong Awan, Mario Loku Thomas Jada and Lual Dawu on the consensus reached by the Tumani mediation. President Ruto expressed the hope that South Sudan would be peaceful and stable and play an important role in African affairs.
“Kenya looks forward to the people of South Sudan living in a peaceful, secure and prosperous society,” President Ruto said in a statement. “The Toumani Initiative has made significant progress under the leadership and patriotism of all parties. We commend them for taking the difficult decisions in the national interest.”
The South Sudanese Opposition Alliance confirmed a meeting with President Ruto and reaffirmed its commitment to the mediation process to end the conflict and political instability in South Sudan.
The Toumani Initiative is a high-level mediation effort in South Sudan that unites parties and groups to ensure an inclusive and localized process, modeled on a pan-African policy of African solutions to African challenges. It is aligned with the Silencing the Guns in Africa initiative and fosters an environment conducive to transformational development in South Sudan and across the continent.
Lual Dau, spokesperson for the South Sudan Opposition Movements Alliance (SSOMA), highlighted the ongoing consultations between the opposition, government, civil society and other stakeholders. The Tumaini Initiative aims to achieve a “lasting and inclusive peace”.
Peace talks began on May 9, 2024 in Nairobi and were expected to end in August. However, representatives of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In Opposition (SPLM-IO), led by First Vice President Riek Machar, walked out of the talks in protest against the initiative’s mandate. Machar believes that the eight protocols signed in July could undermine the 2018 peace agreement.
The Revitalized Agreement signed by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) led by President Salva Kiir, the SPLM-IO and other political factions has not been accepted by all groups. The National Salvation Front (NSF), led by General Thomas Cirillo, refused to sign on the grounds that the root causes of the conflict have not been resolved.
The Kenya-led process aims to include groups excluded from the restored peace agreement. Dawu expressed optimism that representatives of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition will rejoin the Nairobi peace talks and stressed the continuous engagement with all stakeholders.
He stressed the importance of unity in achieving peace and development. “We had resolved almost all issues except power-sharing before the departure of the SPLM-IO delegation. We focused on the implementation of the matrix to ensure that the Toumani consensus is different from the previous agreement and has a clear and appropriate timeline,” Dawu said.
(English stone)
[ad_2]
Source link
