August 13th 2019 (Nyamilepedia) – South Sudan’s main armed opposition leader and First Vice-President designate, Dr. Riek Machar Teny-Dhurgon, has return to Sudan after President Kiir refused to meet him in Addis Ababa.
For three weeks, Machar has been in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa follow and invitation by a United Nations official to discuss gender violence issues.
In a statement issued on Monday, the SPLM-IO director of information, Puok Both Baluang, announced the return of Machar to the Sudanese capital.
“The SPLM/SPLA (IO) would like to inform members and the public at large that, the Chairman and Commander in Chief of the people’s movement SPLM/SPLA (IO) and First Vice President designate, H.E Dr. Riek Machar Teny-Dhurgon and his accompanying delegation arrived this evening about 5:00 pm to Khartoum, Sudan after a three (3) weeks official visit to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,” the statement partly read.
“The Chairman visited Addis Ababa on an official invitation from the Under-Secretary General and Special Representative of the Secretary General of United Nations on Sexual Violence in Conflict (SRSG-SVC), Mrs. Pramila Patten,” it added.
The African Union and IGAD mediators have been pushing for a face-to-face meeting between Machar and President Salva Kiir Mayardit who said all meetings should take place in Juba.
Kiir had to cancel a planned trip to Addis Ababa in late July because he was not happy about the Ethiopian-IGAD arrangement for a meeting with Machar.
