Regional leaders urge S. Sudan’s warring parties to stop fighting

March 27, 2017 (JUBA) – Regional leaders have issued a statement expressing a deep concern about the humanitarian crisis in war-torn South Sudan, stating that all the necessary measures be taken to save people’s lives and forestall the famine.

“The Summit decided that all humanitarian corridors should be immediately opened without any conditionality to allow safe access to the affected populations across the country and called upon all factions to immediately stop fighting. In this regard, the Summit urged the Government of South Sudan and all armed groups to declare an immediate ceasefire,” partly reads the 25th IGAD communique extended to Sudan Tribune.

A statement was issued by the regional leaders on the side-line of the summit, where they discussed various durable solutions for Somali refugees and sustainable reintegration of the returnees into Somalia.

Hailemarian Desalegn, the Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the chair of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) chaired the summit, attended by Ismail Omar Guelleh, President of the Republic of Djibouti, Uhuru Kenyatta, President of the Republic of Kenya, Mohamed Abdullah Mohamed, President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of the Republic of South Sudan, Kaguta Museveni, President of Uganda and Hasabo Mohamed Abdul Rhaman, Vice-President of the Republic of the Sudan.

The purpose of the summit was to urge both the governments of Sudan and South Sudan into making certain that their territories were not used by armed groups that pose a threat to the security of both counties, as well as to implement the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (ARCSS).

The summit condemned the proliferation of armed groups and called upon all said armed groups to renounce violence as a means of solving the South Sudan problem.

The communique encouraged all parties to fully commit to the implementation of the peace agreement and in particular to focus on the security sector reforms in order to build a republican army that would guarantee the safety and security of South Sudan and its people.

The statement encouraged South Sudan leaders to work towards building an encompassing political process determined through a credible election, where all South Sudanese have an opportunity to determine their leaders and hold them to account.

The summit reaffirmed the continued and collective engagement of IGAD member states in the search of lasting peace, security and stability of South Sudan; and in this regard, committed to the revitalization of Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) and called upon all parties to fully cooperate with the JMEC and not impede the movement of the Ceasefire Transitional Security Arrangement Monitoring Mechanism (CTSAMM).

(ST).