FILE PHOTO: South Sudan's President Salva Kiir (C) attends a ceremony marking the thirty fourth anniversary of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) at the military headquarters in Juba, South Sudan May 18, 2017. REUTERS/Jok Solomun/File Photo
Just recently, Pope Francis was all over the news for kissing the feet of South Sudan President Salva Kiir and his rebel chief Riek Machar for the sake of peace.
But have they restored peace back home? Did they respect the bowing down of the elderly pope to just kiss their feet? On Saturday Kiir urged opposition leader Riek Machar to return home “urgently” to help form a government of national unity.
A failure by the former vice president to do so would destroy any hope for peace in the war-torn country, he said.
“Even now, it’s not too late,” Kiir told reporters. “I am inviting Dr. Riek Machar to urgently return to Juba so that we can work together to expedite the process of forming the revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity”.
A peace deal signed by the parties of the country’s six-year-old conflict calls for the formation of a government of national unity on May 12.
Machar, who is a signatory of the agreement, on Thursday asked for a delay of six months, saying it was not safe for him to return to Juba. According to leaders of his party he is in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital.
Machar “will not come to Juba without security arrangements,” said Puot Kang Chol, representing Machar’s SPLM-IO rebel group at the National Pre-transitional Committee (NPTC), the body charged with implementing the peace agreement.
But Kiir said that “we should hold the interest of our people above and beyond any personal fears, resentments and interests.
“Any delay to the formation of the government would crush the hopes of our people for peace,” he warned.
Machar fled Juba in 2016 under fire from Kiir’s troops after a previous peace deal fell apart, prompting clashes between both men’s forces.
The September peace deal has ended most of the fighting, but progress towards a unified army and the security of the capital have been slow.
The deal is the latest effort to end years of conflict between both men that has plunged the country into a civil war marked by atrocities.
Kiir and Machar were allies in the struggle for statehood, but their subsequent rivalry turned into war from December 2013.
