November 20th 2019 (Nyamilepedia) – The African Union said in a communique on Tuesday that it wants the international to impose punitive measures against South Sudan peace spoilers.
The same communique issued yesterday also urged holdout opposition groups to put down their guns and join the ongoing peace process in the world’s youngest nation.
Last year, South Sudan government and opposition groups including the SPLM-IO led by former vice president Dr. Riek Machar signed a revitalized version of a 2015 peace agreement to end the ongoing civil war.
Some opposition groups which were part of the peace process such as the National Salvation Front (NAS) led by General Thomas Cirilo and People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) led by Dr. Hakim Dario pulled out of peace talks in August 2018 after accusing Kiir’s government of monopoly.
Later on, the groups, joined by South Sudan United Front/Army (SSUF/A) led by former army chief General Paul Malong Awan, called for the reopening of the 2018 peace agreement for renegotiation.
In a communique issued on Tuesday, the AU said it asked the IGAD Special Envoy for South Sudan Ismail Wais to engage the holdout opposition groups – Cirilo and Malong in particular – to accept to join the ongoing peace process.
It said the regional body “encourages the IGAD Special Envoy to South Sudan to continue to engage the leaders of the holdout groups, in particular Thomas Cirillo and Paul Malong to join the R-ARCSS.”
The communique further urged the “the international partners to consider punitive measures, including targeted sanctions, to be imposed against those who continue to undermine the peace process in South Sudan.”
