Eritrea, Sudan to talk to South Sudan’s holdout groups
September 26, 2022 (JUBA) – Eritrea will join Sudan’s efforts to convince holdout groups to participate in South Sudan’s peace process, an official said.
South Sudan’s Deputy Foreign Affairs minister, Deng Dau Malek said he held talks with the Chairman of Sudan’s Sovereign Council, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to discuss Sudan’s role in convincing holdout rebel groups to join the peace process.
“We met and held fruitful meetings with different heads of state and government to discuss with them our plans for peace and stability in the region, Africa, Horn of Africa, eastern, central, and northern African subcontinent. Before he could return to Sudan, we held fruitful discussions with Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan,” said Malek.
He added, “We discussed the progress in the revitalized roadmap of the revitalized peace agreement on the resolution of conflict in the Republic of South Sudan. We also discussed the role of Sudan in talking to the holdout groups to join the peace process”.
South Sudan holdout groups are an alliance of several armed and non-armed opposition groups which decided to refuse to sign the 2018 revitalized peace agreement, citing failure to have addressed the root causes. The talks between the government and the holdout opposition groups started in 2019. In January 2020, both sides signed a peace declaration in which they recommitted to the cessation of hostilities and called for uninterrupted humanitarian access to local and international organizations.
The international community has often demanded that South Sudan Opposition Movement Alliance (SSOMA) be part of the country’s revitalized peace agreement.
South Sudan’s former army chief of staff, General Paul Malong Awan and the former ruling party (SPLM) Secretary General, Pagan Amum Okiech lead factions in SSOMA. The alliance consists of the Real Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (R-SPLM) and South Sudan United Front/Army (SSUF/A), which were not part of the 2018 peace deal.
The group also includes the South Sudan National Salvation Front (NAS) headed by General Thomas Cirillo. NAS, South Sudan Peoples Defence Forces (SSPDF) and the armed opposition (SPLA-IO) have often clashed in several areas within Central Equatoria state.
The minister said South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and his administration believe Sudan and Eritrea can play important roles in efforts to persuade the holdout to join the peace process.
“The Vice President, H.E Hussein Abdel Bagi Akol, and the team consisting of a number of ministers met and held talks with the delegation from Eritrea. We discussed with them the need to coordinate efforts aimed at promoting peace and stability in Africa, and in the Horn of Africa in particular. We have agreed with them to join the efforts of the region and the friends of the people and the government of South Sudan to persuade the holdout groups to join the peace process in the country,” stressed Malek.
He added, “Sudan is leading these efforts but will appreciate the support from countries like Eritrea”.
Sudan is a guarantor of South Sudan’s September 2018 peace agreement.
Relations between Sudan and South Sudan are improving, with officials in both Khartoum and Juba regularly travelling between the two countries for exchange visits and official engagements. The Chairman of Sudan’s Sovereign Council was recently in Juba to participate in the first graduation of the necessary unified force in the country. Sudan is expected to train the group upon their deployment.
(ST)