Troika condemn South Sudan army attacks on SPLA-IO positions

March 24, 2022 (JUBA) – The Troika countries on Wednesday condemned attacks by the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) on the armed opposition faction (SPLM/A-IO) positions in Jekow and other towns in Maiwut County, Upper Nile State.

The troika comprises of the United States, the United Kingdom and Norway.

The group, in a statement released on Wednesday, said that they have received reports showing that government forces have carried out attacks on positions held by armed opposition fighters in multiple places.

They cited the latest attack in Maiwut county of Upper Nile state which took place between March 19 and 20 March 2022. These incidents led to displacements, loss of lives, and destruction of properties in the area in which clashes occurred.

These incidents, according to the statement, followed a series of repeated attacks across Unity and Upper Nile states by either government forces or-aligned forces on positions held by armed opposition forces over the last two months.

“The Troika requests the Permanent Ceasefire and Peace Agreement monitoring and verification mechanisms, the Ceasefire, and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring and Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM) and the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC), to provide urgently an assessment of whether these attacks constitute a breach of R-ARCSS and identify those that bear primary responsibility,” said the Troika in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune.

It continued: “Incidents such as these and the resulting cycles of revenge attacks risk greater violence in the country. They also illustrate the destabilizing and pernicious effects of incentivized defections, as these are often followed by armed clashes between defectors and their former comrades in arms.”

The countries normally considered friends of the people of the country and considered as a group advocating regime by the government and its supporters expressed concerns at attacks against training centers and cantonment sites.

The attacks, noted the statement, betray a lack of political will to unify and graduate the Necessary Unified Forces and thereby threaten to undermine the peace agreement.

“We call on the Government of South Sudan to exercise leadership and oversight of the nation’s security forces to maintain discipline and compliance with the peace agreement,” the statement stressed.

“The Troika regrets the decision by SPLM/A-IO to temporarily withdraw its participation from CTSAMVM and R-JMEC and urges all parties to recommit to the R-ARCSS and re-engage in good faith in the Agreement mechanisms,” it added.

The attacks are happening with less than a year left of the transitional period, whole-hearted commitment is critical to get us past the finish line.

“Unfortunately, recent events signal the opposite.  We are concerned that a continuation down the current path could lead to renewed bouts of fighting and suffering visited upon the people of South Sudan, who have already suffered two wars in their first decade of independence,” noted the Troika.

“The Troika will continue to support the parties in their efforts to achieve a stable, peaceful society for all South Sudanese,” it added.

(ST)