General Cirilo forms 61-member political oversight body

JUBA – South Sudan’s holdout National Salvation Front (NAS) led by General Thomas Cirilo Swaka has announced the formation of a 61-member political body to guide the action of the holdout rebel group in its efforts to removed President Salva Kiir Mayardit from power.

In a statement issued on 4 February, General Cirilo said the formation of the NAS Salvation Council is in line with several decisions by the group’s leadership to establish its political structures.

The newly formed political organ comprises a number of notable academics, senior military officers, politicians, women, members of the civil society and representatives of the youth group.

Among the appointees Alfred Sebit Lokuji, a prominent South Sudanese academic and a former deputy vice-chancellor at the University of Juba, Elhaj Paul, a renowned South Sudanese political commentator and Yien Mathew Chol, former spokesman of the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM).

Cirillo congratulates appointed members of the council, saying it was a recognition of their diligence and commitment to the work for the salvation of the South Sudanese people.

The group is participating in a process brokered by the Sant’Egidio Community to bring the holdout groups to join the revitalized peace agreement.