Humbled by wars, South Sudan says won’t interfere in external conflicts
By Okech Francis
South Sudan, seeking ways to end six years of crisis says it won’t interfere in conflicts around the globe.
The country is currently implementing a peace agreement in search of ending a crisis which began in 2013 and had a devastating effect on the country.
About 400, 000 people were killed, four million displaced and the country’s sole revenue source, crude oil slashed leading to economic chaos.
Seeing the devastating effects and frustrations as a result, the leaders formed a transitional government of national unity which is expected to usher in a new era of democracy by 2023.
This crisis erupted shortly after a bitter conflict that raged for 22 years and left 2.5 million people dead, but also leading to the independence of South Sudan.
“The issue is that South Sudan’s policy is based on non-interference on other countries’ affairs, the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambrose Tamania Hirifugo told Juba Echo by phone.
Western diplomats in the country sought a vote from South Sudan this week, at the United Nations general assembly to condemn an ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
In an emergency session of the UN’s general assembly on Wednesday, 141 of the 193 member states voted for the resolution, 35 abstained, and five voted against.
The resolution deplored Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and called for the immediate withdrawal of its forces, in a global expression of outrage that highlighted Russia’s increasing isolation.
Most of the countries under the African Union backed the bloc’s call to abstain from voting.
“The majority of course looked into the complex nature of the crisis and decided to abstain,” Hirifugo said.
Thousands have reportedly died or wounded in the eight-day conflict, while more than one million people have fled the fighting in what the United Nations has called the swiftest exodus of refugees this century.
Both Russia and Ukraine have agreed on the need for humanitarian corridors to deliver aid and help civilians exit besieged Ukrainian cities, in the first apparent sign of progress in talks between the warring sides.
