Ceasefire monitors call on warring parties to dialogue on 7th anniversary of peace deal
By Denis Ejulu
The Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring and Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM) on Thursday called on warring parties in South Sudan to dialogue in order to de-escalate ongoing fighting.
The ceasefire monitoring body said on the 7th anniversary-marking the signing of the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (RARCSS), that key provisions of the peace agreement related to bringing an end to the fighting, are continually and consistently violated by some of the signatory parties.
“Continuous and repeated attacks across large parts of the country are leading to the deaths of civilians, the destruction of villages, displacement and fear,” it said in a statement issued in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.
CTSAMVM noted that the fighting has hampered efforts aimed at training and graduating the estimated 83,000 unified forces, adding that cantonment sites supposed to ensure the separation of troops have been abandoned.
Teshome Anagaw Ayana, chairman of CTSAMVM emphasized that dialogue was the only path to resolving the tensions sparked since fighting broke out in March, between the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) and the White Army militia allied to the opposition forces in Nasir, Upper Nile State.
“War harms the communities and families of South Sudan and dialogue will always be the best way to resolve conflict. Recently we have seen heightened political instability and fragmentation rather than unification and I call for de-escalation,” Ayana said.
“We cannot forget all of the difficulties overcome and compromises reached to achieve the signing of the peace agreement in 2018. We must therefore collectively protect it from erosion – it is the only agreement that exists and for the sake of the people of South Sudan it must be implemented,” he added.
CTSAMVM despite acknowledging some progress attained since signing of the peace agreement, regretted that the ongoing fighting has reversed some of the nascent progress made.
“Therefore, as we mark seven years since the Agreement’s signing, CTSAMVM urges the RTGoNU and all the parties to end the violence and return their efforts to the implementation of the peace agreement,” it said.
In addition, CTSAMVM called on the warring parties to respect international humanitarian law and also recognize the harm being caused to the civilian population that bears the brunt of ongoing fighting.
“The several efforts and initiatives of the international community and regional organizations all speak the same message: the only way forward is through peaceful dialogue and an adherence to R-ARCSS,” it said.
Tensions erupted between the opposition and the SSPDF following an attack on March 4 by the White Army militia, which the government said is allied with the SPLA-IO, overran a military base in Nasir County, Upper Nile State.
On March 7, the White Army killed 27 SSPDF soldiers and a general who were being evacuated by the United Nations in Nasir. This incident led to the arrests of several high-ranking SPLA-IO officials.
