The Final Call

Another Failed South Sudan Peace Agreement

By Jehron Muhammad | Last updated: Jul 10, 2018 - 10:24:52 PM

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South Sudanese people cheer as they await the arrival back into the country of South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir, at the airport in Juba, South Sudan June 22. The latest attempt at ending South Sudan’s five-year civil war failed June 22 as President Salva Kiir rejected working again with rival Riek Machar after their first face-to-face meeting in almost two years. Photo: AP/Wide World Photos

Before the ink was dry on yet another peace agreement to end South Sudan’s hostilities, violations occurred between President Salva Kiir’s forces and troops belonging to rebel leader and former South Sudan vice-president Rick Machar.

The two leaders, meeting June 26 in Khartoum with President Omar Bashir and after two days of talks that included Uganda President Yoweri Museveni, reached a compromise.

June 23 issue of the East African Newspaper profiles peace talks. Photo: Twitter

South Sudan, Africa’s newest country has spent much of its short life at war with itself, the result of a political face-off between President Kiir and Mr. Machar. This feud erupted into a full-blown conflict late in 2013. Before an August 2015 peace deal ended major offensives, over 50,000 people had been killed and nearly 2.5 million people fled their homes, making South Sudan the world’s fourth largest refugee producing country, and second largest in sub-Saharan Africa after Somalia.

The areas of proposed agreement included a permanent ceasefire, containment of opposing forces and deployment of troops from IGAD, a bloc of eight East African countries, and the African Union to safeguard the ceasefire.

According to TheEastAfrican, the framework agreement was “to allow the Khartoum government to secure the oil fields in South Sudan in coordination with the Juba administration, and to rehabilitate the wells” and restore them to previous levels of production.

Landlocked South Sudan supplies the oil and Sudan will supply the oil pipeline and allow for shipment to international markets.

According to published reports, the Riek Machar-led rebels rejected parts of the deal, which came ahead of any final settlement, leading to renewed attacks from both sides.

Moussa Faki Mahamat, chair of the African Union Commission, talked about South Sudan during a recent African Union Summit in Mauritania. He called for measures to be taken against key rival players in the conflict. “The situation in South Sudan is serious. The humanitarian and security situation is increasingly difficult,” he said at the AU meeting.