Latest news with #Kiir
Winnipeg Free Press
6 days ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
South Sudan's main opposition party rejects president's call for dialogue to avoid civil war
JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — South Sudan 's main opposition party on Thursday dismissed a presidential call for dialogue to avoid the country slipping back into a civil war due to stalled peace talks. Pal Mai Deng, a spokesperson for the opposition SPLM-IO, said President Salva Kiir 'must release political and military leaders of the SPLM-IO who are in detention to show his seriousness about the dialogue.' During the reopening of parliament on Wednesday, Kiir said there was a need for unity and national reconciliation, adding that the 'doors of peace remain open.' 'The suffering of our people must not be prolonged by the continued rejection of dialogue,' he said. The situation in South Sudan remains tense after Vice President Riek Machar — Kiir's former rival — was placed under house arrest following an attack on army bases in March. Several members of the SPLM-IO opposition party have gone into exile fearing arrests. South Sudan signed a peace agreement in 2018, ending a five-year civil war in which nearly 400,000 people died as forces loyal to Kiir and Machar clashed. Deng told The Associated Press that Kiir's appeal was 'paradoxical and insincere' due to the arrests of opposition officials and army attacks on opposition forces. 'Before he (Kiir) urged the parties to resume dialogue, he needed to stop military campaigns against SPLM-IO forces and indiscriminate killing of Nuer civilians he considered anti-government,' said the exiled spokesperson. The CEPO civil society group has warned that Machar's detention has made the continuation of talks impractical. 'The absence of Machar in the function of the government in day-to-day business of the government is making the government of national unity unbalanced,' Edmund Yakani, Executive Director of CEPO, said. The United Nation warned last month that a 2018 peace agreement was on the verge of collapse due to escalating violence, political repression, and foreign military involvement. Yasmin Sooka, chairperson of the UN's Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, described the situation as a 'crisis' adding that the peace agreement was at the 'brink of irrelevance, threatening a total collapse.'
Los Angeles Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
South Sudan's main opposition party rejects president's call for dialogue to avoid civil war
JUBA, South Sudan — South Sudan 's main opposition party on Thursday dismissed a presidential call for dialogue to avoid the country slipping back into a civil war due to stalled peace talks. Pal Mai Deng, a spokesperson for the opposition SPLM-IO, said President Salva Kiir 'must release political and military leaders of the SPLM-IO who are in detention to show his seriousness about the dialogue.' During the reopening of parliament on Wednesday, Kiir said there was a need for unity and national reconciliation, adding that the 'doors of peace remain open.' 'The suffering of our people must not be prolonged by the continued rejection of dialogue,' he said. The situation in South Sudan remains tense after Vice President Riek Machar — Kiir's former rival — was placed under house arrest following an attack on army bases in March. Several members of the SPLM-IO opposition party have gone into exile fearing arrests. South Sudan signed a peace agreement in 2018, ending a five-year civil war in which nearly 400,000 people died as forces loyal to Kiir and Machar clashed. Deng told The Associated Press that Kiir's appeal was 'paradoxical and insincere' due to the arrests of opposition officials and army attacks on opposition forces. 'Before he (Kiir) urged the parties to resume dialogue, he needed to stop military campaigns against SPLM-IO forces and indiscriminate killing of Nuer civilians he considered anti-government,' said the exiled spokesperson. The CEPO civil society group has warned that Machar's detention has made the continuation of talks impractical. 'The absence of Machar in the function of the government in day-to-day business of the government is making the government of national unity unbalanced,' Edmund Yakani, Executive Director of CEPO, said. The United Nation warned last month that a 2018 peace agreement was on the verge of collapse due to escalating violence, political repression, and foreign military involvement. Yasmin Sooka, chairperson of the UN's Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, described the situation as a 'crisis' adding that the peace agreement was at the 'brink of irrelevance, threatening a total collapse.' Machol writes for the Associated Press.
6 days ago
- Politics
South Sudan's main opposition party rejects president's call for dialogue to avoid civil war
JUBA, South Sudan -- JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — South Sudan 's main opposition party on Thursday dismissed a presidential call for dialogue to avoid the country slipping back into a civil war due to stalled peace talks. Pal Mai Deng, a spokesperson for the opposition SPLM-IO, said President Salva Kiir 'must release political and military leaders of the SPLM-IO who are in detention to show his seriousness about the dialogue.' During the reopening of parliament on Wednesday, Kiir said there was a need for unity and national reconciliation, adding that the 'doors of peace remain open.' 'The suffering of our people must not be prolonged by the continued rejection of dialogue,' he said. The situation in South Sudan remains tense after Vice President Riek Machar — Kiir's former rival — was placed under house arrest following an attack on army bases in March. Several members of the SPLM-IO opposition party have gone into exile fearing arrests. South Sudan signed a peace agreement in 2018, ending a five-year civil war in which nearly 400,000 people died as forces loyal to Kiir and Machar clashed. Deng told The Associated Press that Kiir's appeal was 'paradoxical and insincere' due to the arrests of opposition officials and army attacks on opposition forces. 'Before he (Kiir) urged the parties to resume dialogue, he needed to stop military campaigns against SPLM-IO forces and indiscriminate killing of Nuer civilians he considered anti-government,' said the exiled spokesperson. The CEPO civil society group has warned that Machar's detention has made the continuation of talks impractical. 'The absence of Machar in the function of the government in day-to-day business of the government is making the government of national unity unbalanced,' Edmund Yakani, Executive Director of CEPO, said. The United Nation warned last month that a 2018 peace agreement was on the verge of collapse due to escalating violence, political repression, and foreign military involvement. Yasmin Sooka, chairperson of the UN's Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, described the situation as a 'crisis' adding that the peace agreement was at the 'brink of irrelevance, threatening a total collapse.'
Al-Ahram Weekly
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Civilian killings in South Sudan hit highest level since 2020: UN - Africa
The number of civilians killed in South Sudan has soared to the highest in almost five years, the United Nations said on Wednesday. The unstable East African nation has seen a drastic uptick in violence since simmering rivalry between President Salva Kiir and his vice-president Riek Machar boiled over into open hostilities. The detention in March of Machar in the capital, Juba, further escalated tensions, with international NGOs working in the country reporting attacks on medical facilities and the targeting of civilians. The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said that between January and March of this year, 739 civilians were killed, 679 injured, 149 abducted, and 40 subjected to conflict-related sexual violence. In a statement, it said that compared to the previous quarter, this toll marked a "110 per cent increase in civilians killed (352 to 739)". The overall figure of victims was "the highest number in any three months since 2020". The majority of the victims were recorded in Warrap State, where President Kiir declared a state of emergency in June. Most of the killings were linked to community-based militias or civil defence groups. However, UNMISS said "conventional parties and other armed groups" accounted for 15 per cent of victims, "marking a concerning increase of 27 per cent (from 152 to 193)". The UN has repeatedly warned of the deteriorating situation in the impoverished country, which is still recovering from a five-year civil war between forces allied to Kiir and Machar that was only ended by a fragile 2018 peace agreement. That agreement has looked increasingly irrelevant, with UN rights chief Volker Turk calling on all parties in May to "urgently pull back from the brink" and uphold the deal. The escalation of violence risks further worsening the already terrible humanitarian situation and widespread violations of human rights in the world's youngest country, he said at the time. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
South Sudan's President Kiir promotes sanctioned ally as ruling party deputy
NAIROBI (Reuters) -South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has reshuffled the senior leadership in the ruling party, according to an official decree, as the country faces fresh fighting between rival armed factions and widespread speculation about Kiir's succession plans. Kiir, 73, promoted sanctioned ally Second Vice President Benjamin Bol Mel as his SPLM party's deputy chairperson, according to a decree read on the state broadcaster on Tuesday night, weeks after the United Nations said the country was on the brink of civil war. Seen widely by political analysts as Kiir's chosen successor, Bol Mel was sanctioned by the United States in 2017 over suspicions his construction company received preferential treatment in the awarding of government contracts. If Kiir stepped down, Bol Mel's new role as the SPLM party's deputy chairperson would make him acting president of the country. The reshuffle follows months of political uncertainty in which authorities placed Kiir's longtime rival First Vice President Riek Machar under house arrest, accusing him of trying to stir a rebellion. Machar's opposition party denied the charges, and said the move effectively voided a 2018 peace deal that ended a five-year civil war between Kiir's Dinka forces and Nuer fighters loyal to Machar. Western countries, including the United States, Britain and Germany closed embassies or cut back operations in South Sudan. Tuesday night's ruling party shake-up saw Kiir demote three veterans of South Sudan's liberation struggle, including former Second Vice President James Wani Igga, according to the decree read on state television on Tuesday night.
