Juba, South Sudan
March 22, 2022 — The Chairperson of the ceasefire monitoring body has adjourned its technical committee meeting on Monday after SPLM/A-IO representatives in CTSAMM walked out over alleged attacks in Unity and Upper Nile States.
Lieutenant General Asrat Denero says he will refer concerns raised by the main opposition group (SPLM-IO) to R-JMEC.
According to reporters, who covered the event, the meeting could not go as planned after SPLM-IO members under the First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar protested alleged attacks on their bases in Unity and Upper Nile States by SSPDF, an allegation not yet verified.
They were supposed to discuss the implementation status of the security arrangements and review previous discussion on outstanding issues.
However, the SPLM-IO members boycotted the meeting and walked out when the discussion was about to kick-off.
The ceasefire monitoring mechanism’s main mandate is to report to IGAD progress in the implementation of the ceasefire agreement in South Sudan.
Its chairperson is tasked to continuously engage peace parties to adhere to the ceasefire deal, especially the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement which was signed in Khartoum, Sudan, in 2017.
The Chairperson of CTSAMM Lieutenant General Asrat Denero said the concern raised by SPLM-IO members do not fall under his jurisdiction and he will raise them to the Revitalized Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission(RJMEC).
“IO party members are not participating. For this issue, we will postpone the meeting and will discuss with the R-JMEC chairperson and IGAD and senior party members also. So this is not our mandate but R-JMEC will discuss and negotiate,” said Asrat Denero during the meeting boycotted by main opposition group.
Asrat Denero encouraged the peace parties to embrace dialogue as the only way of solving their grievances.
“My suggestion is all parties, as African, even Ethiopia, this East Africa we have a lot of challenges, everywhere there are clashes, there is fighting, there are killing,”Asrat Denero said.
According to Denero, the most important thing is we have to discuss, we have to sit together around the table and find the solution.
” So let us not go back to the fighting”, he further emphasized.
