Kenya not launching pad for S. Sudanese rebels: envoy

November 20, 2017 (JUBA) – Kenya’s ambassador to South Sudan, Cleland Leshore has said the East African nation would not allow South Sudan rebels to use its territory as launching grounds.

He said the approach, if adopted by all regional nations, will help bring peace in a country, where conflict has displaced over two million people.

“I want to assure the government and people of South Sudan, the region and the internal community that the government of Kenya will not allow Kenya to be used as a launching pad for any subversive activity against the government and people of South Sudan,” said Leshore.

The Kenyan envoy made these remarks at a stakeholders’ plenary meeting organised by the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission, headed by former Botswana President Festus Mogae.

The diplomat also called for a unified regional position to assist political developments in the country, noting that governments in the region hold “significant influence” on political developments to end the four-year old civil war.

South Sudan gained independence in 2011, but descended into a civil war in 2013, resulting in the displacement of 4 million people from their homes while hundreds of thousands have been killed.

A peace deal signed between the government under President Salva Kiir and his main political rival Riek Machar in August 2015 faltered when fighting resumed in the capital, Juba, in July 2016.

Kenya is one of the countries in the region where several senior South Sudanese government officials and key opposition figures reside with their family members.

Kenya is a founding member of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a regional bloc which has been organizing talks seeking to reconcile the Juba government with rebels allied to South Sudan former First Vice President, Riek Machar.

(ST)