October 18, 2020 (JUBA) – The opposition National Salvation Front (NAS) led by Gen. Thomas Cirillo Swaka has pledged its commitment to sign the Recommitment to Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA) together with an agreed Declaration of Principles (DoP).

Thomas Cirillo Swaka (Photo Reuters)

NAS, in a statement issued Sunday, said South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOMA) agreed during the Rome talks that CoHA cannot be open-ended as it was to provide a conducive environment for political negotiations to address root causes of conflicts in the country.

“The participation SSOMA in CTSAMVM as a CGHA monitoring and verification mechanism will be for three (3) months subject to renewal,” partly reads NAS’s statement.

“During the three months Sant’Egidio as the mediation body will monitor the political commitment of the parties to the adherence to CoHA and SSOMA will only sign any recommitment to CoHA if there is an agreement on the Declaration of Principles which paves way for negotiations on root causes of the conflict in the country," it added.

The hold-out opposition group, however, assured its members, the people of South Sudan and the international community at large that the movement is committed to addressing the root causes of the conflict in South Sudan to achieve just and sustainable peace.

Last week, NAS together with its allies in the opposition alliance participated in the third round of talks of the Rome Peace Process between SSOMA and the Revitalized Government of National Unity in South Sudan (R-TGoNU), under the auspices of the Community of Sant’Egidio, in Rome, Italy from October 9-12.

The third round of the peace process was a continuation of the first and second rounds of talks mediated by the Sant’Egidio community.

Founded in 1968, the Community of Sant’Egidio is a lay Catholic association dedicated to social service provision.

(ST)