Crisis watchdog says unresolved Equatoria rebellion puts South Sudan peace prospects at risk

JUBA  – The International Crisis Group (ICG) warned in a report released on Thursday that the ongoing rebellion in South Sudan’s Equatoria region is putting the country’s prospect for peace under the revitalized peace agreement signed in 2018 by President Salva Kiir and his first deputy Dr. Riek Machar Teny at risk.

The group in the report titled ‘South Sudan’s Other War: Resolving the Insurgency in Equatoria‘ urged South Sudan’s regional and international partners to initiate credible efforts to bring into the peace process  armed opposition groups – notably the National Salvation Front led by General Thomas Cirilo Swaka – that are still active in most parts of Equatoria to ensure the 2018 peace deal achieve peace in all parts of the country.

“On-and-off fighting is cutting a swathe of destruction in Equatoria, including south and west of the capital Juba, displacing hundreds of thousands of people into neighbouring countries and obstructing South Sudan’s path out of war and toward a more viable future,” the report seen by Sudans Post reads in part.

“Mediators and external powers should press Cirillo and South Sudanese President Salva Kiir to broaden the existing peace deal by fulfilling the bespoke ceasefire agreement between them. Cirillo should join the country’s constitution-making process,” it said, adding that South Sudan parties to the revitalized peace agreement should also “support a grassroots process to address local grievances.”

The report warns that failure to resolve the rebellion in the South Sudanese multi-ethnic region will make it difficult to consolidate peace in the world’s youngest country and urged that international efforts to bring into the ongoing process are badly needed to ensure that South Sudan is in a complete peace.

“As long as this insurgency endures, South Sudan is unlikely to be able to consolidate peace, notwithstanding the deal between Kiir and Machar, which is holding for now. Equatoria is a cornerstone of the country. It was the birthplace of the 1960s liberation movement that set South Sudan on the path to independence from Khartoum, and its people have a long tradition of advocating and fighting for autonomy,” it said.

“International efforts need to ensure that Equatoria is part of the national reconciliation effort. Mediators and external powers should push for Juba and Cirillo to fulfill the terms of their ceasefire deal, including incorporating Cirillo’s representatives in the existing ceasefire-monitoring body.

“They should also press Kiir to bolster and Cirillo to join the constitution-making process that the deal between Kiir and Machar provides for. This way, the holdout rebel leader will have an avenue to press home his demands at the table, instead of on the battlefield.

“To complement these top-down efforts, all parties will need to work together to win grassroots support for the deal and to tackle the local grievances against the government and ruling elite that underpin the intense political alienation found across Equatoria.”