The meeting was part of the delegation’s multiple engagements with senior government officials during a two-day visit to the capital, Juba, which excluded opposition groups and key signatories to the agreement.
In a public statement, the office of the president said the delegation called on the parties to the agreement to work together to fully implement the peace agreement.
“Chairperson Youssouf reaffirmed that their mission to Juba was one of solidarity to stand by the people and the government in their efforts toward implementation of the peace accord,” said the presidential statement.
“He implored South Sudanese leaders to work together to complete the transitional roadmap and lead the country to democratic elections,” it added.
The call from the joint AUC and IGAD delegation comes at a critical moment for South Sudan as the country grapples with heightened political tensions leading to the arrest and detention of key opposition figures and unprecedented pockets of insecurity across the country.
During the delegation’s visit, Dr. Riek Machar, the country’s First President and leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO), a key signatory to the agreement, remained in detention.
Machar and about 15 SPLM-IO political and military officials were arrested in March after the Kiir administration waged a crackdown targeting top Machar’s allies.
The move, which forced senior SPLM-IO officials, including First Deputy Speaker of the Transitional National Legislative Assembly Oyet Nathaniel Pierino, to flee the country, followed the killing of SSPDF commander Maj. Gen. Majur Dak and 27 of his soldiers, by the White Army in Nasir County, Upper Nile State.
The government accused Mr Machar of masterminding the attack, which also claimed the life of Sergii Prykhodko, a United Nations peacekeeper. The SPLM-IO denied the accusation, maintaining that the White Army is an independent community militia.
While the call by the AUC chairperson on parties to fully implement the agreement signals commitment to peace, opposition signatories were seemingly not engaged, as seen from the delegation’s activity schedule on Monday.
The Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan establishes a Revitalised Transitional Government of National Unity, in which the SPLM-IO is a key partner.
