IGAD condemns violation of South Sudan cessation of hostilities
December 29, 2017 (ADDIS ABABA) — The Chairperson of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Council of Ministers and Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister Workneh Gebeyehu on Friday strongly condemned the violations of the cessation of hostilities in South Sudan.
“The Chairperson of the IGAD Council of Ministers strongly condemns the violations of the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities, demands an immediate end to all forms of hostilities; and calls upon all the parties who violate the Agreement to come to their senses,” read a statement released on Friday.
The South Sudanese government and the SPLM-IO hours after the signing of the cessation of hostilities on 21 December released statements accusing each other of breaching a deal the regional mediators and international facilitators worked for a long time to finalise.
The humanitarian truce was supposed to be the first step to create a suitable atmosphere in the war-torn country before the launch of a forum for the implementation of a peace agreement signed in August 2015 to end the four-year armed conflict.
Gebeyehu reiterated the IGAD’s “firm position to hold all violators accountable in accordance with the resolutions of the 28th Extra-ordinary Summit of the IGAD Heads of State and Government of 24 November 2014 and any other provisions of International Law”.
He further called on Finally, ceasefire monitoring mechanism (CTSAMM), in collaboration with UNMISS to monitor the situation on the ground without any delay and immediately report its findings on which party is responsible for the violations.
The two monitoring bodies have remained silent since the 24th December, the official date the cessation of hostilities went into effect.
(ST)