Riek Machar named for number two job in south Sudan

Aug 19, 2005 (KHARTOUM) — Onetime dissident Riek Machar, who led a decade-long breakaway movement among his Nuer people before rejoining the rebel mainstream in 2001, was named to south Sudan’s number two job on Friday, the official SUNA news agency reported.

Machar’s elevation by First Vice President Salva Kiir follows the latter’s promotion after the death of veteran southern rebel leader John Garang in a helicopter crash late last month.

Like Garang, Kiir belongs to the Dinka people, south Sudan’s largest ethnic group, and Machar’s participation is seen as a key factor in upcoming talks between the former rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement and Nuer militia that fought on the government side.

A previous round of talks between the South Sudan Defence Forces and the SPLM under Garang’s leadership in June and July broke down amid recriminations.

AFP