Kiir adamant to peace due to opposition split – report  

JUBA – South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit is hesitance to the implementation of the security arrangements provided for in the 2018’s revitalized peace agreement because of the opposition split which took place in northern Upper Nile state’s Magenis town, a conflict monitoring group has said.

The Small Arms Survey said President Salva Kiir Mayardit has changed the apportioned ratio on the allocation of the unified force command, which would have given the entire opposition about 50 per cent of the positions in the unified command, to 60-40 angering the Machar-led SPLA-IO faction in Juba.

“Since the Kitgwang Declaration, Kiir has already changed the apportioned ratio of SSPDF to SPLAIO commanders and fighters in the unified force, from 50-50 to 60-40,” the group said in a report it released this week.

“Machar, of course, would resist formal recognition of the Kitgwang faction, but Kiir, insofar that this outcome would weaken Machar, may opt to push for this. Machar’s 40 per cent may yet have to be subdivided with Gatwech,” the report added.

The report said President Salva Kiir will continue to play into the opposition share of power unless the regional bloc, IGAD which mediated the peace agreement “sees the SPLA-IO [Kitgwang] as a viable threat to the R-ARCSS, and insists that they are absorbed into the new South Sudanese army, thus ensuring its incorporation in the RARCSS framework.”