South Sudan president warns of prolonged conflict in Sudan
October 15, 2023 (JUBA) – South Sudan president Salva Kiir has warned that the fighting in Sudan is likely to persist in the absence of a coordinated effort to end the ongoing war.
He was on Saturday addressing religious leaders who visited him at his residence in Juba
“The conflict in Sudan may take time because there are many visions and approaches even though the objective is the same. These efforts need to be harmonized and this is what I have been saying when foreign envoys and ambassadors come to me asking to update them on the situation in Sudan and how it is affecting us”, Kiir told his visitors.
He said the conflict in Sudan has direct security and economic impacts on every country.
The meeting came just days after French lawmakers and the Norwegian envoy for Sudan and South Sudan sought updates from President Kiir on the war in neighbouring Sudan.
The South Sudanese leader vowed to support the peace process in a coordinated way.
Meanwhile, South Sudan’s presidential affairs minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin said President Kiir was receptive to all views and ideas that would help expedite the peace process in Sudan which he appears could be eclipsed by other events in the world.
He disclosed that South Sudan, Eritrea, the Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Egypt, and Ethiopia are working on a proposal to present to the parties to the Sudanese conflict on cessation of hostilities and access to humanitarian corridors.
“A lot of efforts are running. There are three tracks. There is an African Union proposal, there is an IGAD proposal and there is now a proposal that is in progress by six countries. This document was at the level of the ambassadors but it has now moved to the level of the ministers of foreign affairs who will review and present it at a meeting of the heads of state and government in these countries”, explained Marial.
A US-Saudi initiative is at the forefront of efforts seeking to end the war between the Sudan armed Forces, led by General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo that erupted on April 15, have stalled.
The army wants withdrawal of the paramilitary RSF from Khartoum to a designated cantonment center outside civilian settlements, while the latter is pushing for a solution to the political settlement before effecting any withdrawal from the country’s capital.
(ST)